Gem Child
by OliviaGraham
Summary: Yami and Yugi are gem children and on the run from the law. What happens when Yugi gets kidnapped? Will Yami and the shadows be able to save him? Will Yugi gain his powers and convince other they're not dangerous? Or will he die before that can happen?
1. Chapter 1

**Olivia: Can someone say new story? :D**

**Desirae: Yea, because you're doing such a good job with the other ones.**

**Olivia: Oh shut up! You're just jealous because I have stories and you don't.**

**Desirae: Oh, you're right! I totally am.**

**Olivia: Are you being sarcastic?**

**Desirae: She can be taught! And here I thought she was a moron.**

**Olivia: You're so mean. Anyway, here's a new story, hope you like it. I do NOT own YuGiOh (unfortunately).**

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><p>There are two kinds of people in the world. There are those who are born normal, who find a good place for themselves in society, and those who are known as the gem children.<p>

These people are oddities. They're born with powers, both fantastical and terrifying, and recognizable by striking eyes coloured red like rubies or violet like amethyst. Hence, the name gem children.

Little is known about how or why gem children came to be, perhaps they are just a mistake in the genetic code or maybe something more sinister was at work. All anyone knows is that they overwhelmingly powerful and a potential threat to those unlike them. Therefore, must be captured and terminated.

At least, that's what one of "normal" upbringing would believe… until those ones, or even just one, could be convinced otherwise. The real question is, could that ever happen?

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><p>Sixteen-year-old Yami Mutou awoke and rubbed his sleepy ruby red eyes. Light streamed in through the boarded up window of his hiding place, telling him it was late morning, just before noon.<p>

He sighed and cast the thin blankets off himself before standing up to stretch. The pillows he'd been sleeping on had slipped out from under him during the night. He'd been on the floor most of the time and his back was more than willing to let him know about it.

He looked to the floor to see his younger twin, Yugi, lying sound asleep looking like an angel. Yami smirked as his brother's face twitched in response to whatever dream he was having. He sighed. Though they looked almost identical in appearance, there were a few minute differences.

They both had spiky black hair with magenta tints and blonde bangs, Yami had a few more blonde highlights mixed in with the black. However, the biggest difference was their eyes. While Yami's eyes were cold, calculating and above all, red, Yugi's were wide, innocent and a dazzling shade of amethyst. Of course, one couldn't tell now as they were closed.

The differences were more than skin deep. Yami had always been a fighter and protector. He knew the world for the horrible, unfair place it was and yet had no intention of letting it take him or his brother down without a fight.

This suited perfectly because Yugi was timid, too timid, to stand up for himself. He was full of an almost child-like optimism that could never be crushed by something as trivial as a harsh word or a cold heart. To him, the world may have been cruel, but it was still a place of wonder and joy.

There was another difference though. One that confused even the two of them. Yami's ability to control the shadows had been evident since he was seven months, but Yugi had yet to show any sense of power at all.

This was extremely unusual, even for gem children like them. Their powers came about the same time their eyes shifted from blue to whatever colour they shifted to, around the age of six months or a year old. Yugi's eyes changed, but for whatever reason his powers never came.

It put him even more at risk of being caught by the Gemologist Constabulary, the organization that arrested and exterminated gem children, because he couldn't defend himself if he ever got cornered. Thankfully, he had Yami to defend him.

The two were as different as night and day, light and darkness, but at the same time they were the best of friends and loved each other deeply. Yami shook his head. He really should wake Yugi up, it really wasn't safe to leave him here alone, but he looked like he was having a good dream. He hadn't had one of those for a while.

Besides, Yami would only be gone long enough to "borrow" something for breakfast from the market just a block away. How much trouble could a sleeping Yugi get into in fifteen minutes?

He grabbed a pen and the stack of post it notes and wrote a quick note saying he would be back soon. He stuck the note to the floor beside his brother's face and headed for the doorway. He paused at the threshold and looked back. He felt like something was off about today, though he couldn't place his finger on it.

Yami brushed the feeling off. It was probably just because he had never really done anything without Yugi in a while. The last time he'd left him alone Yugi had gotten hurt. Badly. Yami shuddered at the memory. _Never again_, he thought to himself.

He turned back to the door and crept out, using the shadows to dull the sound of his footsteps. Little did he know, fifteen minutes was all it would take to turn the world upside down.

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><p><strong>Desirae: So I'm guessing this is an alternate universe.<strong>

**Olivia: You guess right.**

**Desirae: And the reason you changed the spelling from Yuugi to Yugi is...**

**Olivia: I don't know, a lot of people spell it that way. It's how it's spelled in the manga. **

**Desirae: Caving to peer pressure... for shame.**

**Olivia: I didn't! Can't I spell it this way in this story? It's not like I switched halfway through, the other stories it's still consistent (unless I missed something).**

**Desirae: Then maybe you should double check.**

**Olivia: *gets paranoid and goes to check***

**Desirae: Let us know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Olivia: *singing* I've got a new chapter and I am extremely happy!**

**Desirae: Because you have a new chapter up?**

**Olivia: Yes, and I also graduated high school! :D**

**Desirae: Congratulations. Now why don't you be a good little graduate and thank the nice people for their reviews.**

**Olivia: Thanks to **DreamixAngel, Morfanerina, Aqua girl 007, Kamen-Oh, **and **Luna vampire princess** for all the reviews. You are all awesome!**

**Desirae: Why are you updating this story first? You were planning on doing the other one next.**

**Olivia: I'm at an impasse between two ideas and until I sort it out I'm going to keep myself busy with this one.**

**Desirae: I don't see that going over well. Anyway enjoy! Olivia does not own YuGiOh. (and **Luna vampire princess**, I press her buttons because it's fun. Seriously, you do not see her face when I do it. It's freakin' hilarious ;P)**

**Olivia: Thanks Des -.-U**

**Desirae: Anytime ;)**

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><p>Katsuya Jounouchi kicked a rock down the street with such force that he was surprised it hadn't shattered on impact. His father was drunk yet again and it was only Wednesday morning.<p>

Jounouchi hated when his father did this. For one thing, it left Jounouchi to hold down a job on his own to pay the bills while still attending his classes, much to his displeasure. For another, his father tended to get abusive while intoxicated, evidence of this was clear on Jounouchi's forehead.

He absentmindedly rubbed the rapidly forming bruise from the bottle that was thrown at him when he saw movement in his peripheral vision. Jounouchi turned quickly to see nothing but shadows in the alleyway. _That's weird_, he thought to himself, _I could have sworn I saw those shadows move. Maybe the bottle did more damage than I thought._

He looked around and realized he was in an unfamiliar part of town. He had been walking around for a good forty minutes and wasn't really watching where he was going. All around him were warehouses, most of them boarded up and empty looking. He could see spaces between the boards covering the windows and decided to have a little fun while he was here.

He picked up the rock he had been kicking around. Taking aim at a window on the second floor, he threw the rock and was pleased to see that it flew straight between two boards. He was about to look for another rock to throw, when he heard a faint "ow" coming from inside the building. Curious, he looked around for an entrance. Finding one, he walked in.

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><p>Yugi sat rubbing the spot beside his eye. He had been having a wonderful dream when a rock came out of nowhere and hit his head hard. He looked around to see where it could have come from and realized Yami wasn't here. He was about to call out to his brother when he heard a noise coming from downstairs.<p>

"Hello?" an unfamiliar voice sounded throughout the warehouse. Yugi froze, not knowing what to do.

"Hello?" the voice said again, "Is anyone in here?" Yugi threw the blankets off himself, stood up as quietly as he could and slowly made his way to the closet. He made it halfway there but unfortunately, he forgot about a creaky floorboard. Panicked when he heard footsteps on the stairs, he threw caution to the wind and darted to the closet to hide.

He stood in the farthest corner from the door and crouched down to make himself as small as possible. His heart pounded in his chest like a drum and fear flowed through his being like whitewater rapids.

His heart stopped when the footsteps reached the top of the stairs. Tears began to cascade down his cheeks before he could stop them. Too scared to move, all he could do was close his eyes tight and try to keep from crying. That would certainly get him noticed, and that was the last thing he wanted to be.

Trembling, he listened to the footsteps come closer and closer, then stop a few feet from the door. A few moments passed before he heard the footsteps start up again, this time right toward the closet. In a few seconds, he was going to be discovered and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Where was Yami?

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><p>Jounouchi looked around the room and stopped at two makeshift beds of pillows. One was in total disarray, but the other seemed pretty well maintained, as though it's former occupant had slept soundly with little tossing or turning. Next to one of the beds was a little yellow sticky note. He picked it up and read it.<p>

_Aibou,_

_I've just gone to the market._

_Stay where you are._

_I'll be back soon, promise._

_~ Yami._

Jounouchi had passed the market while he walked, so he knew it was close by. Whoever was staying here couldn't have gone far if someone else was coming back. It was just then he heard deep breathing coming from the one closet in the room.

He hesitated, but pocketed the note and pressed on, determined to get to the bottom of this. All he could do was pray that it wasn't a homicidal maniac or worse, a gem child. Still, if it was a gem child at least there'd be a hefty reward… if he survived.

He put his hand on the doorknob and opened it to see a boy curled up on the floor with his eyes shut tight and tears streaming down his cheeks.

_Wow, this kid has some crazy hair_, Jounouchi thought. He mentally slapped himself for _that_ being his first thought instead of trying to comfort the obviously terrified boy. He took a step forward and the kid backed up even more.

"Please, d-don't h-hurt me," he said in a quiet voice, "I didn't d-do anything! I s-swear! Just d-don't k-kill me." Jounouchi was shocked at the boy's choice of words. _Poor kid, _he thought to himself, _there's no way he's a gem child, he's so scared_. He advanced another step and kneeled down in front of the boy.

"It's okay," he said in a soothing voice, "I'm not going to kill you." The kid still didn't seem convinced because he was still bawling his eyes out. Jounouchi reached out to him.

"I promise," he said. The second Jounouchi's hand made contact with the boy's arm, his eyes shot open in surprise of being touched. Once they made eye contact Jounouchi yelped and fell backwards to scoot away from the boy before hitting the doorframe. Brown stared into amethyst as each sat in fear of the other. The tension was so thick you could put it in a bowl and call it pea soup.

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><p>Yugi stared into the eyes of the blonde man in front of him, hardly daring to breathe. The man looked almost as terrified as he felt. Yugi wanted to scream out and call for Yami, but he didn't dare. Who knows what this mystery person would do if he did call out?<p>

It was obvious this man saw Yugi's amethyst eyes because he had been stupid enough to open them. It would certainly explain the fear, but the man hadn't moved or said anything.

Yugi began to feel awful that he was scaring this guy. He didn't seem at all like the people he had run into before, the people he'd seen over and over again in his nightmares. But he still didn't feel less scared despite the growing guilt. What if the man was just in shock? Maybe he would attack him once he was over it.

For now all Yugi could do was close his eyes to keep from scaring his potential attacker any more and beg to be left in peace, not pieces.

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><p>Jounouchi was surprised by what happened next. Instead of setting him on fire or stopping his heart like he expected this <em>gem child<em> to do, he closed his eyes again and started _apologizing_.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," the kid said over and over again, "Please leave me alone! I never hurt anyone. Just please, go away." Jounouchi scrunched his eyebrows together. What was with this guy? He was the one with the lethal powers that could kill Jounouchi in an instant, yet _he_ was the one begging for mercy? This had to be some kind of trick.

"Do you live here alone?" he asked cautiously before standing up silently. The boy hesitated for a second before shaking his head violently while still keeping his eyes closed, "No, no one's here! I live alone."

_Busted_, he thought as he caught the boy in a lie. He took a deep breath and hit the boy over the head, causing him to gasp and fall over unconscious.

_Sorry kid,_ he thought as he bent down to pick him up, _but a man's got to do what a man's got to do._

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><p><strong>Desirae: Anticlimactic! I thought he was getting kidnapped.<strong>

**Olivia: He did.**

**Desirae: By Joey.**

**Olivia: Yes, and it's Jounouchi. **

**Desirae: You'd better make it good later.**

**Olivia: Hey! I'll have you know, I have some ideas for this. Big ideas. They're bigger than... than...**

**Desirae: While you're thinking of these ideas, I'll be alphabetizing my arsenal.**

**Olivia: Please review- wait, what? Desirae?**


	3. Chapter 3

**Joey\ Jounouchi: I am so pissed at you!**

**Olivia: Why?**

**Joey: Because you made me out to be a huge jerk!**

**Olivia: Well you're the one that was acting like that-**

**Joey: You're the author. You're the one who wrote it. Now go back and change it or I swear-**

**Desirae: I will rip out your spleen if you finish that threat. No one threatens my hikari.**

**Olivia: Wow thanks Des! I didn't know you cared-**

**Desirae: No one but me! Now, both of you finish alphabetizing my arsenal! I got bored after about five minutes.**

**Olivia: But I don't-**

**Desirae: Do it or I will give the cat a full body wax and take away your ice cream sandwiches!**

**Olivia: Does the Ginsu Knife go under G for Ginsu or K for Knives?**

**Joey: Whatever, you might scare Olivia with sugar withdrawal, but you don't scare me.**

**Desirae: Do it or I will give you a full body wax and take away your Red Eyes!**

**Joey: It goes under K.**

**Desirae: We do not own YuGiOh (or Ginsu Knives).**

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><p>Yami sighed in relief. He had narrowly avoided being seen by some blonde person on the street by twisting the shadows to hide his form. When the man looked away, Yami slid deeper into the shadows and walked around the back alley to get to the market. He felt a mild sting beside his eye and rubbed it, wondering what that could have been. <em>A mosquito bite maybe<em>_?_ A few minutes of walking later, he cursed.

The market was already crowded with people. There was no way he was slipping unnoticed. If it were darker out, he could have blocked people's sight so he could take what he needed and go. But with the sun near it's peak in the sky, not only were shadows harder to control, but it could cause a mass hysteria if it suddenly got dark in the middle of the day. The last thing he wanted to do was draw anyone's attention.

"Freeze!" a stern voice came from behind, making him jump, "GCDC! You're coming with us!" He spun around with shadows emanating from his form, his eyes bright with power. Recognizing the face of the voice he relaxed, and put his hand over his heart as the shadows faded back.

"Mai," he said, panic leaving his voice, "Don't do that!" The violet-eyed blonde giggled and flipped her hair back, "Oh come on, you know it was funny." Yami shook his head.

"No it's not! I could have really hurt you." He crossed his arms, secretly amused by Mai's antics. They had met back when he and Yugi were ten, and since that time she had really become the sister they never had. This included the occasional, or in this case frequent, practical joke. Mai rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, like I'd let you hurt me. I can take care of myself, squirt. But I guess I do owe you for scaring you half to death." She stepped aside to reveal a wagon filled with fruits, vegetables, and boxes of granola bars. Yami was so shocked he didn't even bother to call her on the fact that releasing pheromones wasn't much protection against bloodthirsty shadow creatures.

"Where did you get all that?" he asked in amazement. Mai winked, "A man in lust will always do what a woman wants, even if it means breaking the law and ignoring her sunglasses. I didn't even need my powers for that, but a little insurance never hurts." She winked and tossed him an apple. Yami smirked and caught it in one hand.

"You're amazing, you know that?" he said, "Why do you have so much anyway? It's pretty risky carting that amount of stuff around."

"That's why we're stashing it at your place. Anyway, you never showed up last night to get your food supplies so I figured I'd help you and Yugi out if you hadn't gotten caught. Speaking of which, where is the little guy? You two are almost never apart." Yami nodded.

"The Gemologist Constabulary was hanging around our place. It was only two guards, but it would have been stupid to risk it. He was still sleeping when I woke up this morning. He looked like he was having a good dream so I just let him be. You know how he's been having nightmares since the, uh, incident." Mai nodded solemnly.

"Yea, I know. But it's good that he's finally having a peaceful sleep. It's been what, six months since then?" Yami nodded and Mai continued, "I was beginning to worry he'd been permanently scarred. And then you started with the nightmare thing. Twin empathy must be rough." Yami rolled his eyes.

"It's not as bad as you'd think. We can only feel each other's emotions and not each other's physical pain. If we did I couldn't have-" At that moment, he felt intense pain at the back of his head and brought his hands to hair.

"Ugh, my head's pounding! I feel like I was just kicked or something." Mai tilted her head to the side, "A headache maybe?" Yami shook his head.

"No, it can't be. I usually feel them coming on, and this one-" he paused mid sentence. As quickly as the pain came, it subsided. Yami brought his hands down, "and this one just left." Mai rolled her eyes.

"Maybe your twin empathy intensified. I heard traumatic experiences can cause that." Yami glared at her, "Are you insinuating Yugi is hurt? That's not funny." This time he was not amused. Mai blinked, realizing she crossed a line.

"No, sorry. I'm sure he's fine. Gee, you really are overprotective of him." Yami sighed, but something still stayed with him. A feeling he should go back to the warehouse to check on his brother.

"It's okay, you were only joking. Still, I will feel better when I get back." Mai smiled, "Let me come with, we need to drop off your share of this anyway."

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><p>Honda rode his motorcycle down the street, letting the wind go through his pointy brown hair. It always amused him that the company that made his motorbike was also his namesake, so it was like it was professionally monogrammed just for him.<p>

He stopped at a red light and from his pocket, heard his phone ring loudly. He pulled the bike over and checked the caller ID.

_Jounouchi,_ he thought with a sigh. This kid called him to tell him the most random things, from 'Dude, I just found 10 bucks on the street' to 'Dude, I just bought a burger! It has pickles'. It got to the point where Honda had to make him promise not to call him more than twice a day. Thank goodness for unlimited calls.

Honda flipped his phone open and put it to his ear, "Okay Jou, what did you eat for lunch today?" He was surprised to hear Jounouchi breathing deeply.

"That'll have to wait for later, I just stumbled onto something huge. Where are you?" This had to be something big. Apart from his sister, food was the most important thing to Jounouchi. For him to say food can wait could almost qualify as a sign of the apocalypse.

"I'm on my bike. Jou, you're scaring me. What's going on?" There was a pause before Jounouchi responded, "You'll see when you get here. Come pick me up." Honda shook his head in resignation. He wasn't getting anything out of Jounouchi until they were face to face.

"Where are you?" Honda nodded as Jounouchi told him the place rather hesitantly as though he weren't exactly sure, "I'll be there in five." He put the phone back in his pocket and revved the engine before driving off, wondering what the heck was up with his friend.

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><p>Mai started to walk with Yami back to the warehouse in virtual silence on Yami's part. She'd tried to strike up conversation with him, but he seemed too preoccupied with his own thoughts.<p>

_Poor guy_, she thought, _I must have really worried him. _She looked down at his hands to see that he still held the unbitten apple and rolled her eyes. It was childish for him to refuse to eat until he'd checked on his brother.

About six or seven minutes later, they arrived at the entrance of the building. Yami walked in ahead of her, leaving Mai to pull the wagon in herself. She huffed loudly before pulling the wagon up the three step stairway into the building.

Sometimes she thought it would be easier if she could use her powers on Yami to make him do what she wanted like every other guy she used them on. Unfortunately for her, when they had first met they had made a pact not to use their powers on each other.

Yugi had been excluded from agreeing to the pact, having no powers of his own, but was still protected under Yami's conditions. Not that Mai would ever use her powers on Yugi. He was just too… what was the word. Innocent? Yea, that suited.

"Aibou?" she heard Yami call as he made his way up the stairs to the second floor. She just pulled the wagon over the last step when she heard him call out more urgently.

"Aibou!" Mai dropped the wagon handle and dashed after Yami, passing the apple he had dropped down the stairs. When she reached the top of the stairs, the sight she saw both scared and confused her.

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><p><strong>Olivia: Dun dun DUUUHHH!<strong>

**Desirae: Get back to alphabetizing!**

**Olivia: What? I was just-**

**Desirae: No. Just... no. Stop talking.**

**Olivia: Please review!**

**Desirae: There go the sandwiches!**

**Olivia: NO! *tackles Desirae***

**Joey: *sneaks box of ice cream sandwiches and escapes while the girls are fighting***


	4. Chapter 4

**Olivia: These are really good ice cream sandwiches :)**

**Desirae: Where did you get those? I thought Joey stole them.**

**Olivia: I got them from** Luna Vampire Princess**. She tossed me some in a review!**

**Desirae: Can I have some?**

**Olivia: NO! You're mean to me. You don't get any. Now if you excuse me, I have to thank the reviewers to let them know how awesome they are.**

**Desirae: Whatever. *crashes on couch***

**Olivia: I'd like to thank **Luna Vampire Princess, Aqua girl 007, DreamixAngel, **and **Kamen-Oh ** for reviewing chapter 2 and **Kamen-Oh, DreamixAngel, **and **Luna Vampire Princess** for reviewing chapter 3. I'd also like to thank **Pk Love Omega** for reviewing all three chapters. Also thanks to the sandwiches for keeping me awake all night so I could write instead of sleep.**

**Desirae: Fan-freaking-tastic. Can we get to the story now?**

**Olivia: I just have to do the disclaimer. I do not own YuGiOh, no matter how much I wish I did. Enjoy!**

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><p><em>He's not here<em>, Yami thought as he frantically looked around on all floors of the building. Their room had been empty when Yami walked in and his note was missing.

_He must have seen the note, but then why didn't he stay put?_ As he continued to search and call out, he abandoned the nickname 'Aibou' and started shouting Yugi's name.

"Yugi! Where are you? I swear, if you went and got yourself caught-" he opened the closet and saw a few droplets of blood on the floor. Yami knew it wasn't enough blood to have been anywhere near fatal, but it was enough to cause his worry to be entangled with an empty sense of dread.

He fell to the ground crying while shadows surrounded his body and Mai continued to search just as frantically as Yami had. Tears fell to the ground, staining dark spots where contact was made. Each water drop burst into a thousand pieces that mirrored the breaking of Yami's heart perfectly. Just continuous shattering.

_I shouldn't have left him, I should have woke him up, I should…_ he closed his eyes tight and tried to swallow the lump in his throat.

_Yugi, Aibou, please be safe. _He opened his eyes again as they became bright once again and anger coursed through his veins. _Whoever took you is going to pay._

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><p>Honda stopped his bike at the street corner Jounouchi had specified and realized how unprepared he was for what his friend had 'stumbled upon'. There was Jounouchi, sitting on the curb a few feet from a map stand and cradling a smaller, unconscious person. He dismounted his bike and walked over to the two with a dumbstruck look on his face.<p>

"What the hell, man," he asked as Jounouchi stood up with surprising ease. His eyes were distant and he kept looked behind himself every few seconds, then at the boy in his arms. Honda was really concerned now.

"Jou," he said in a more commanding tone. This seemed to get Jounouchi's attention. He turned to his friend and started rambling some explanation so fast that Honda could barely understand a word he was saying.

"Whoa, Jou, chill out. You're scaring me. What happened? Who's that kid and why is he unconscious?" Jounouchi looked around like he was expecting to get jumped any second now.

This was completely out of character, as very few things scared him. Well, very few real things anyway, zombies and stuff didn't count. Jounouchi looked at Honda straight in the eyes and whispered two words very clearly.

"Gem child." Honda paled and looked down at the seemingly harmless kid. He shook his head and looked back at his friend, "Are you serious? Dude, you're lucky to be alive right now! Are you okay?" Jounouchi nodded. Honda took out his phone and started dialing a number.

"I'm calling Gem Con, we've got to get this guy in to the authorities." Before he could finish dialing, Jounouchi had grabbed the phone from his hand, causing the boy's legs to fall and his toes to scrape the pavement. Honda looked up to see Jounouchi pocketing the phone.

"What was that for? Come on, this is serious." Jounouchi nodded, "I know, but listen to me. I don't think we should call Gem Con, at least, not yet. I know it's crazy-"

"Damn right it's crazy."

"But I still think we should hold off. I found him in the warehouses a few blocks from here, and on the floor I found this." He took out a small, yellow square of paper and handed it to Honda. He read it and his eyes widened.

"There's another one. Why are you just standing here then? If the other one is anywhere near here-"

"Don't you think I know that? I figured getting a few blocks away from the warehouse was better than waiting for you there and the other one coming back. He might have actually killed me, or at least try to." Honda scoffed.

"And this one didn't?" he asked sarcastically. Jounouchi's face stayed serious, "Actually, he didn't." Honda shook his head in confusion.

"What are you talking about?" Jounouchi picked up the boy's legs and looked Honda in the eye, "He never tried to kill me. He just sat there crying. At first, I thought it was a trick, but if it was I'd be dead right now, right?" Honda's eyebrows scrunched together.

"I guess, but even so, the law's the law. If we hide him we're toast." Jounouchi rolled his eyes, "But we're not going to _hide_ him. We're going to _contain_ him. Then we'll go after the other when we get information from this one. Twice the reward, and we can have an even split. What do you say?"

Honda pinched the bridge of his nose. _I'm not gonna cave, I'm not gonna cave, I'm not gonna cave._

"Fine Jou, you win." _Damn. _Jounouchi sighed and smiled at his friend, "Thanks man, I knew I could count on you." Honda brought his hand to his side.

"Yea, whatever. Where are we taking him and how are we getting there? I don't think the three of us can fit on my bike. You and I are barely able to." Jounouchi walked over, draped the kid over the seat, and climbed on.

"I think it will work, look how tiny he is. And we'll take him to Ryou's apartment. It's not far from here, and he's visiting his father on a dig in Egypt for the next few weeks. He left me a key in case I wanted to, uh, take a break from home life." Honda nodded and straddled the bike between Jounouchi and the gem child before driving off.

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><p>He smiled broadly. The blonde he had been watching had just finished a conversation with his friend about the one in his arms. It was exactly as he had thought. The unconscious one was a gem child. Judging by the unique hair, he could safely assume he could only be one of the twins he'd been searching for. The ones from the legend.<p>

The blonde mentioned going to Ryou's house, but he'd never be able to catch them while they were on the bike. He wasn't too concerned. If Ryou's was near here, all he had to do was run a search for a Ryou that lived in this neighbourhood. It shouldn't take long to locate them.

In all honesty, he could have just grabbed the boy before, but that might have caused a scene and that was the last thing he wanted to do if he wanted his plan to go on smoothly. And what if it wasn't the right twin? He wanted the powerful one.

_No matter,_ he thought. Even if it wasn't the right twin, he could always use him to lure the right one out into the open. Either way, he'd get what he desired. Oh yes, he was going to have fun on this job.

He smiled with a murderous glint in his eyes.

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><p><strong>Desirae: Who is he?<strong>

**Olivia: That's the mystery.**

**Desirae: And you couldn't come up with a name for him? Do you have any idea how confusing that will get?**

**Olivia: Well, I don't want to give him a name, and calling him "a figure in the distance" is boring and too long to type.**

**Desirae: Total crap. You type out "Jounouchi" when "Joey" works so much better.**

**Olivia: I don't pretend to understand how my mind works. I just accept it and go with the flow.**

**Desirae: *rolls eyes* Please review. Her self esteem stems from them.**

**Olivia: Does not!**

**Desirae: Of course not. *winks***


	5. Chapter 5

**Joey: You really did it now Olivia!**

**Olivia: What did I do?**

**Joey: They hate me more than ever! I can only imagine what you're gonna make me do next.**

**Olivia: We're not starting this again! Last time Desirae made us work.**

**Joey: Where is Desirae anyway? I don't see her anywhere.**

**Olivia: I don't know. I can only assume she's up to no good. In the meantime, I'd like to thank **Aqua girl 007, DarkHeartInTheSky, Kamen-Oh, Youngbountygirl, Pk Love Omega, DreamixAngel,** and **Luna vampire princess** for reviewing! I'd also like to take this time to say that I do not own YuGiOh.**

**Joey: It's be a love-hate thing if you did.**

**Olivia: I'd love and you'd hate?**

**Joey: Exactly.**

**Olivia: Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Yugi felt like he was being carried. His head was lolling back uncomfortably and he could hear two voices. One of them seemed familiar. His eyes fluttered open to see a wall moving. He looked out of the corner of his eye to see two men, one he had never seen before and the one carrying him…<p>

Yugi screamed and the blonde dropped him out of surprise, causing Yugi's head to hit the wall. He closed his eyes and rubbed the spot tenderly. It felt like he'd been hit there before now, which seemed likely because he couldn't remember a thing since he'd last closed his eyes.

"Dude," the blonde said, "I thought they weren't supposed to wake up until after they were locked up. It's what happens in the movies." Yugi heard the other man sigh.

"Jou, you really are a moron." Yugi opened his eyes to see the blonde, apparently called Jou, turn around to the brunet with a retort. Before any words were uttered, the brunet looked down with fear and dislike in his eyes. Jou looked down and spun rapidly, having realized he had his back to him.

"Uh, you're awake," Jou stated matter-of-factly. Yugi just stared at them, waiting for whatever was going to happen. Nothing did. All three teens just stayed where they were staring at each other. The silence lasted for a good five or ten minutes before Jou sneezed. Yugi jumped with a yelp and skittered back a few feet from the boys.

"Wh-who are you?" he asked shakily

* * *

><p>"Wh-who are you?" the boy asked in a shaky voice. Jounouchi couldn't help but feel sorry for this poor kid. But what if that was the kid's power? He glanced at Honda, who was glaring at the boy with disdain. So if it was a power, it clearly wasn't affecting him. Jounouchi turned back to the boy.<p>

"The name's Jounouchi. This is Honda," he jerked his thumb to Honda, who seemed to have a near heart attack that Jounouchi used their real names, "What's yours, kid?" The boy sat up straighter and lowered his eyes.

"Y-Yugi. My name is Yugi, and I'm not a kid. I'm sixteen." This annoyed Jounouchi. He had the kid's name on the post it and here he was lying about it. He had the nerve to use his real name. This kid should too. How could he even be sure this kid was really sixteen? He sure didn't look it.

"Really?" he said taking a step forward. Almost immediately Yugi's eyes slammed shut and he curled his body as though to protect as much of himself as possible. Small tears were leaking through his eyelashes. This made Jounouchi pause. He was doing it again. Why was this kid acting like the victim here?

"What's your deal?" he asked, genuinely curious, "Most of you would try to at least attack us and here you are crying like a child. What are you trying to pull exactly?" Honda finally spoke up.

"Jou, are you _trying_ to get us vaporized or something? You're just provoking him!" Jounouchi turned around to face his friend, "I'm just asking a question. It's not like the time I punched Hirutani in the face!" Honda raised his eyebrows.

"No, you just hit this one upside the head." Jounouchi rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, "You would bring that up." At that moment, he looked down and saw Yugi was gone. He looked around nervously, "Y-Yugi?"

* * *

><p>Honda could not believe how big a moron his friend was. He turned his back on the kid for two seconds and loses him. Of course, he was also to blame because he wasn't paying attention, but he wasn't about to admit that.<p>

The kid couldn't have gone far. After all, it wasn't a big apartment, but this was a gem child they were talking about. For all they knew, he could be invisible, waiting like a cobra for the most opportune moment to go for the lethal strike. He could be hiding around a corner in the form of a Bengal Tiger, ready to pounce and tear them apart. He could-

_Grrl_.

"What was that?" he asked Jounouchi in a voice a little higher than it should have been. Hopefully Jounouchi wouldn't notice the pitch difference. But his friend didn't seem to be paying him any mind. Instead, he turned into the living room and looked over the couch.

* * *

><p><em>Damn<em>, Yugi thought to himself as he wrapped his arms around his waist. Of all the times his stomach had to growl today, it had to be now. He'd been planning on hiding behind the couch and wait for them to pass before sneaking around and darting to the door, but that ship had sailed.

Jounouchi's head appeared over him and Yugi looked up glumly. He knew what was going to happen now, or at least he thought he did. Instead of beating him senseless, Jounouchi opened his mouth and said, "You hungry?"

Yugi blinked a couple times in surprise before nodding his head slowly. He hadn't eaten since yesterday afternoon when he and Yami split a ham sandwich. _Yami!_ Yugi was worried now.

What happened to his brother? Did he get carted him off? Is that why he wasn't there when Yugi woke up? Did this mean these people worked for the GC? Would that put his brother in more danger? So many question ran through his head that he hadn't heard what Jounouchi was saying until he snapped his fingers in front of Yugi's eyes.

"Hey!" Yugi was startled and looked up at Jounouchi. He immediately lowered his eyes again, "Yes?" Jounouchi stood up and asked Yugi to do the same. The two walked to the kitchen with Honda trailing behind with his hands behind his back. Yugi had his suspicions about why that was, so he trailed close by Jounouchi.

* * *

><p>Jounouchi lead the other two into the kitchen. He'd seen Honda pick up a picture frame and hide it on his person before Yugi had gotten up from behind the couch. Based on how close he was walking, he assumed Yugi had guessed the reason Honda had his hands behind his back. Jounouchi turned to the fridge and pointed to the table.<p>

"Just sit down and I'll get something. Honda, keep an eye on him." As Yugi sat down on the side farthest from the kitchen, Honda hovered over him. His eyes bored into the back of Yugi's head, who was noticeably uncomfortable with this. Jounouchi sighed and opened the fridge.

_Something to eat, something to eat_, he thought as he shifted through the fridge. If he was being honest with himself, he was mainly looking to find something good for himself.

He hadn't had lunch yet and always being one to stuff his face, he was starting to really feel the hunger. _Damn, all Ryou has is vegetables and stuff. How am I supposed to make something delicious with this? _Behind him he heard Yugi speak up.

"So what- what happens now?" He turned around to see Yugi staring at the table. Jounouchi tilted his head to the side, "What do you mean?" Yugi shrugged his shoulders but still stared at the same spot.

"Well, are you taking me to the GC or am I already there?" Jounouchi shook his head, scrunched his eyebrows together, "You mean Gem Con right?" Yugi flinched at the name but nodded slowly, still not looking up from the table.

"Are you taking me there?" Jounouchi shook his head, "No, not yet." Yugi's eyes widened in surprise and what looked like fear, but he still didn't look up. After a pause he asked, "W-Why?"

_Crap!_ Jounouchi had totally forgot to think of an excuse. He certainly couldn't tell this kid he was planning on extracting information from him to find out the best way to capture the other gem child for twice the reward. He'd just have to come up with a story. Thankfully, Yugi wasn't looking at him so he couldn't see his panicked expression.

"Um, well the thing is we, Honda and I, feel like you deserve a second chance. You know, for not killing us and stuff." It was an obvious lie, he couldn't even convince himself. The kid would have to be one of the most gullible saps on the planet to fall for that.

"Really?" Yugi asked looking up with a small smile. Jounouchi looked to Honda who shrugged. He turned back to Yugi and nodded, "Sure."

* * *

><p>Yugi was so happy he was safe, for now anyway. He might be in trouble later, but he'd worry about that when the time came. The people he thought were cruel and hostile were now a safe haven in a world so ready to knock him down. A wide smile made its way onto his face before he could stop it. Jounouchi held up one hand.<p>

"Wait, but there are a few rules. For safety, we're going to have to lock you in one of the rooms and you're not to leave without one or both of us there. You're not to hurt us, kill us, or use any kind of power against us. Oh and Ryou would be upset if there was any structural damage to his house, so no breaking things. Other than that, go nuts." Yugi nodded.

"Will you play games with me?" he asked. By the look on Jounouchi's face, he was a little unsure, but nodded his head, "Okay, we could probably play cards or something. Ryou's got a bunch of games somewhere." Yugi clapped his hands once with a smile.

"Awesome! This can be just like a sleep over!"

* * *

><p>Jounouchi turned back to the fridge feeling more confused than ever. What was with this kid? Once he found out they weren't going to hurt him he just calmed right down and just kept smiling. <em>Smiling<em>. He was being held captive in a strange place where he had almost no freedom and he was _smiling_. What an odd person.

* * *

><p><strong>Desirae: I'm back! Did you miss me?<strong>

**Olivia: Define "miss". Also, where did you go?**

**Desirae: What? Because you're my hikari, you think you have to know every detail of my life? Can't I have a little privacy?**

**Olivia: Sheesh, I'm sorry.**

**Desirae: You should be.**

**Olivia: I said I was sorry! *leaves room shaking head***

**Joey: So where were you anyway?**

**Desirae: I was busy hiding all her Harry Potter books.**

**Joey: Why?**

**Olivia: *from upstairs* DESIRAE! WHEN I GET YOU- *tumbling sounds* Ow...**

**Desirae: That's why. She's gets clumsy when she's angry.**

**Joey & Desirae: *high five* Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Joey: Well, it seems like people are hating me a little less than before, but still. Why are you making me such a jerk?**

**Olivia: For the sake of the story. I can't have you be all friendly and stuff with Yugi right now.**

**Joey: Later?**

**Olivia: We'll see how it all plays out. In the meantime, why don't you help me come up with revenge on Desirae. I still can't find my Harry Potter books and she was mean to me.**

**Desirae: Liar! You found the Half Blood Prince.**

**Olivia: Since I can't seem to hear Desirae as she isn't here, I'm going to thank all the people who reviewed. So thanks to **Youngbountygirl, DarkHeartInTheSky, Pk Love Omega, DreamixAngel, Luna Vampire Princess, **and **Kamen-Oh** for your wonderful and helpful reviews. They truly make me happy :)**

**Joey: Except the person who slapped me upside the head. They don't deserve a thank you.**

**Olivia: Oh stop being so overdramatic. You're pulling a Des-**

**Desirae: You're pulling an Olivia.**

**Olivia: -.- I don't own YuGiOh.**

* * *

><p>Yami ran for the exit out onto the street when Mai tackled him. He struggled against her but she had him firmly pinned on the ground.<p>

"Let me go! I have to go out an find Yugi!" He tried to kick her off to no avail. She shook her head and he could see a whole range of emotion in her eyes.

"Yami, it's suicide to go out there! I'm worried about him too but you're no use to him in the hands of the GC." Yami glared at her with such a ferocity that Mai was scared he would use his powers against her.

"For all I know, that's where he is! You don't understand, he's my brother and I need him. He's the only family I have." Mai glared back, "And I'm not?" Yami huffed.

"You know what I mean. He and I have a special bond. He's my twin, an extension of myself and I'll be damned if I don't do anything to protect him. Who knows what he's dealing with right now?" Mai sighed.

"Yami, I know this is hardest on you and I'll never fully understand what you must be feeling right now. But you should know that this is hard on me too. He's like a brother to me and it's hard enough for me to stay in here let alone keep you here. The best we can do is think things through and not do anything stupid."

Yami knew she was right. He didn't want to, but he had to stay put until they thought of a plan. He allowed his body to relax, "Okay Mai, what should we do?"

"You're not going to get up and run, are you?" Mai asked skeptically. Yami nodded, "I promise." Mai sighed, pushed herself off Yami, and flipped her hair back.

"You know, for a little guy you're pretty fast." Yami glared at her, "Now is not the time for jokes. And just because I'm shorter than you-" Mai held up her hand.

"You're right, it's not the time for jokes. We need a clue or something. Since we can't find anything here, we can probably go see if Malik heard something." Yami's eyes widened.

Malik was the eyes and ears of Domino. He possessed the ability to control people's minds with some limitations, one of which being he couldn't control other gem children. It only made sense to go to him to see what he knew. Why didn't he think of that before? He nodded and stood up with Mai.

"Where do you think he'd be?" he asked. Mai put her index finger to her chin in thought, "Last I heard, he was down by the docks but I don't know if he's still there. But we might as well check." Yami nodded and the two crept into the alleyway and started toward the pier.

About halfway there, Yami brought his hand to the back of his head and gasped in surprise at the sudden pain. Mai spun around in the alley they were in and shushed him.

"Yami!" she mouthed, "Do you want us to get caught?" Yami rubbed where his head hurt and realized it was the same spot that hurt before. It made him wonder if his and Yugi's twin empathy had really intensified. It made him even more worried about what was happening to his brother.

* * *

><p>Mai peered around the corner and lead Yami through the countless back alleys and near empty side streets. Every so often they had to hide from a passerby and use the shadows to cloak themselves, but soon enough they made it to the docks.<p>

"Okay," she said turning to Yami, "We need to check every one of these buildings to see if we can find Malik. I'll start in the east end and you can take-"

"Hey!" The two turned around to see a man with brown eyes and hair running towards them. They prepared themselves to fight until the man got closer and they saw he wasn't really looking at them, but past them. They straightened up and Yami stepped forward.

"Are you a friend of Malik's?" he asked cautiously. The man's expression didn't change as he spoke, "I am whatever Master Malik wants me to be." Yami nodded and Mai stepped forward.

"Can you take us to him?" The man tilted his head, still expressionless.

"On what grounds?" Yami crossed his arms, "I'm looking for my brother and I need Malik's help to find him. Now take us to him!" The man nodded and turned around, walking into the nearest building. The two followed him inside to see a large boat with a ramp leading up to the inside.

They walked up the ramp and into a nice looking room onboard the ship to find Malik seated at a table, stirring a glass of water and ice with his finger, staring at it with his violet eyes.

"Yami, Mai!" he said without looking up, "to what do I owe the pleasure?"

* * *

><p>Malik stirred his glass when his slave mentally alerted him two people were outside. He looked through his slave's eyes and recognized them instantly as Yami and Mai. He hadn't seen them in so long, He heard them walk in and greeted them, "Yami, Mai! To what do I owe the pleasure?"<p>

He heard one of them step forward and Yami's voice say, "Yugi's missing. We need you to see if anyone saw him or knows anything." This got Malik's attention.

"Yugi's missing?" he asked, looking up into Yami's red eyes. He looked to Mai for confirmation and she nodded. Malik looked down to his glass then to the brown-eyed man.

"Steve, can you come here for a moment?" The man called Steve walked over to him and bowed his head, "Yes Master Malik?"

Malik stood up and his eyes brightened with power, "Find the other mind slaves and report back to me if anyone has seen a boy who looks like my friend Yami here with purple eyes." Steve turned his head to look at Yami then bowed and exited the ship. Malik's eyes went back to normal and he walked over to Yami, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll get your brother back."

* * *

><p>Jounouchi laughed with glee as he sat on the floor. He had just drawn a good card. He looked to the cards on his side of the field and to his opponent and smiled, "Looks like your luck just ran out short stuff! I summon the Flame Swordsman, who attacks your White Magical Hat. That causes 800 points of damage. Your move." Yugi nodded and drew a card. He smirked.<p>

"Okay Jounouchi, I'll counter by summoning The Earl of Demise and attack your Flame Swordsman, causing your life points to drop to zero. I win again!" Jounouchi just stared dumbstruck at the board and shook his head.

"Are you sure you've never played this game before? You're doing really well. I thought my last attack was enough to shake you but I guess not." Yugi just laughed and returned his cards to the deck.

"I'm sure. I haven't had much time to get caught up on the latest games. I have to say, I really like this one! Though, I wish I didn't have to use Ryou's deck. His cards are just so creepy." Jounouchi laughed.

"Yea, I guess they are. I don't know why he likes this kind of stuff. But hey, want to play another round?" Yugi shook his head, "I think we should play something else so that Honda can play too. He looks kind of bored." Jounouchi felt uneasy with this suggestion. Sure, he was sitting here playing with Yugi all well and nice, but Honda was keeping watch in case something were to happen, acting as a bodyguard of sorts. Without that safety blanket and with Honda somewhat distracted, something could go down.

"I don't know Yugi. I think it would be better if he just watched us." Yugi nodded and lowered his eyes with disappointment, probably catching on to Jounouchi's train of thought. He sighed and turned to his friend.

"Hey, why don't you come play with us. You're missing out on all the fun!" Honda shook his head and waved his hand, "I'm having enough fun over here thanks." Jounouchi shrugged, secretly relieved, and turned back to Yugi. Except he wasn't there. He had gotten up and started making his way to Honda.

* * *

><p>Yugi wasn't sure what he was doing. These guys could turn on him at any moment and send him to an organization that would most likely torture and even more likely kill him, but still, he couldn't stand seeing them still so tense around him.<p>

Jounouchi seemed to be warming up to him a little, though he still seemed nervous any time Yugi so much as lifted a finger. Honda however, was still so distant and refused to turn his back on him like Jounouchi did. But Yugi wouldn't stop trying to show them he wasn't any danger. Maybe if he could convince them of this, they would relax and Yugi himself wouldn't have to worry about them hurting him.

Once he got to the couch Honda was sitting on, he smiled. He noticed Honda's fist clenched into what was obviously meant to be a fist and his other hand moved closer to the picture frame he had set down before. Yugi's smile faltered a little before he made sure to smile as brightly as he could.

"Come on Honda! You can't just sit here and be bored. There's a bunch of three player games, why don't you come have fun?" Honda shrugged.

"I don't want to. I'm perfectly happy sitting over here." Yugi decided to switch tactics, but this could be dangerous. Well, he was walking on eggshells anyway, might as well take a risk. Yugi took a deep breath and gently grabbed Honda's wrist closest to the frame. The brunet made a move as is to punch Yugi, so he closed his eyes and let go. Once Honda saw this, he stopped and just stared at Yugi, who opened his eyes. He took a deep breath and grabbed Honda's wrist again, this time with no response.

Yugi pulled and dragged Honda off the couch and over to the floor where Jounouchi was waiting with another game. They sat down and once they did, Yugi breathed out a sigh of relief and was proud of himself for doing something that scared him half to death.

* * *

><p>Jounouchi sighed when the two sat down. He wasn't too sure what the kid had planned, but once he grabbed Honda's wrist, he understood. Now that Honda was sitting down, they could start to play as a group. Within minutes of awkwardly choosing a game, the trio was laughing and having a great time as though they had been friends for years. It all felt so natural.<p>

The weirdest thing though was that every so often, Jounouchi would find himself surprised to look at Yugi's face and see amethyst. He had completely forgot.

* * *

><p>He looked up at the apartment complex and smiled. <em>So this is Ryou's<em>. It was less than inspiring. Then again, this was just a teenager. With that being the only occupant, one could consider this place impressive, as it was in the better part of the area.

He would have to wait for later to nab the boy, as the other two teens were still there. This only made him more excited for the capture. He considered busting the ones who found him, but then again, if he did he wouldn't be able to do everything he wanted.

Around nine thirty, he ducked down into the bushes as one of the boys left. It was the brown haired one, the motorcycle owner. As he watched the brunet ride off he cursed that the blonde was obviously staying the night, though he should have seen this coming. It wasn't as if they would just let the kid have the place all too himself.

This just made things complicated for him. It was bad enough he had to face a gem child, but a secondary obstacle was not in his itinerary. But he would make it work. How much trouble could one extra boy be?

_I'll get what I want soon enough… the ultimate power._

* * *

><p><strong>Olivia: Ooh, what will happen next? <strong>

**Desirae: Probably something horrible. I can't wait!**

**Yugi: You're not going to hurt me are you?**

**Olivia: We'll see how things play out.**

**Yugi: :(**

**Olivia: Please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Olivia: Wow, I finally get a day to myself.**

**Desirae: I know, that was brutal.**

**Yugi: Why what happened?**

**Olivia: Two weeks of babysitting my mom's boyfriend's kids and my little sister. **

**Desirae: Never ever again.**

**Joey: At least you got paid right?**

**Olivia: ...**

**Desirae: No, that would be crazy. Getting paid for keeping kids from killing each other and losing half our sanity in the process? Crazy talk.**

**Olivia: Anyway, I'd like to thank** Youngbountygirl, DarkHeartInTheSky, Luna vampire princess, Kamen-Oh, Pk Love Omega, DreamixAngel, **and** ToxicElixir **for reviewing :)**

**Steve: OliviaGraham does not own YuGiOh.**

**Desirae: Enjoy.**

* * *

><p>Honda straddled his bike and drove off. He was hesitant to leave Jounouchi alone, but everything had seemed fine enough when he walked out the door. He and Yugi were busy playing 'Jenga' and actually having a fun time doing so. Even Honda had forgotten what Yugi was for a minute or two. Only a minute or two.<p>

As the wind blew through his hair, Honda wondered just what the heck he had gotten himself into.

* * *

><p>Jounouchi pulled out a block and the tower fell over on top of him, making him shout in surprise, "AH! I lost again!" Yugi laughed and threw his arms in the air.<p>

"I win!" Jounouchi laughed at the expression on Yugi's face and gathered up the wooden blocks to set up the tower again, "You've won seven times in a row. Are you sure you're not using some kind of trick to win? You know, that's not fair for all us poor non-gem children." Yugi smiled but started putting the blocks back in the box. Jounouchi tilted his head.

"Oh, you're not playing anymore?" Yugi shook his head, "No, I'm getting tired. I think I want to go to sleep." Jounouchi nodded and helped Yugi put away the pieces.

Once the game was put away, Jounouchi lead Yugi to the bathroom and waited for him to wash up. It just didn't seem right to make him go to bed with blood in his hair, especially when it was Jounouchi's fault.

When Yugi came back out, Jounouchi took him to Ryou's guest room and opened the door. Yugi looked around inside with wide eyes while Jounouchi stood there awkwardly. Who could blame him?

It wasn't a regular occurrence for him to lock a person in a room, but he couldn't risk him escaping. Not to mention the fact that he was feeling very guilty about his previous plan to get information out of Yugi to turn both him and this elusive Yami into Gem Con.

After spending the afternoon with him, Jounouchi started thinking he wasn't that bad a guy. Regardless, he was still a gem child and needed to be taken in, even if that was delayed. Still, it didn't lessen his increasing guilt.

There was another thing bothering him though. Every time he brought up Yugi's power to trick him into revealing what it was, he'd just smile and not say anything. It was the same when Jounouchi brought up Yugi's living arrangements. There was just a quiet smile as a response.

Why was that? He thought it might be that Yugi was still not comfortable here or he was still suspicious of their motives, as this was the most likely, but he felt that those weren't it. It was like there was something else. He shook his head. It was probably just nerves making him some kind of paranoid, if that was the right word.

"Okay, here's where you'll be sleeping. And um, I guess that's it. Good night." Before he could turn, he felt something wrap around his waist and looked down to see Yugi hugging him.

"Thank you Jounouchi-kun. For everything," he said looking up and smiling. Jounouchi was taken aback by this sudden action and didn't know how to respond to it. Before he could stop it, he felt a small smile creep onto his face. He ruffled Yugi's hair as he let go, "You're alright Yug. Good night." Yugi smiled and walked into the room.

Jounouchi closed the door and locked it, finding it weird that Ryou would bother to have a lock for the doors of his apartment at all before walking off to getting ready for bed himself.

* * *

><p>Yugi heard the lock click behind him. He really wasn't happy about being locked up and held against his will, but he was just going to have to make the best of it.<p>

Besides, they seemed like nice enough guys. They did give him food and they had a lot of fun playing games. Yugi couldn't remember the last time he had been able to take out a few board games and just waste the day away like this. Ever since he and Yami were five, they had pretty much been on their own.

He and Yami were never forcibly separated before. Any time they were apart, it was by their choice or by accident. He was convinced that Yami was safe however, because Honda and Jounouchi didn't seem to know anything about his existence. Well, that wasn't completely true. They kept trying to get him to talk about his life, who he knew and what his powers were.

Yugi wasn't ready to talk about that yet. For one, he only had met them today and even though he trusted them with himself, he wasn't willing to risk Yami's safety. For another, they wouldn't believe him if he said he didn't have powers.

Yugi was very insecure about not having any of his own. It made him feel like an outcast amoung outcasts. He had tried countless times to force some kind of power, but always to no avail. Yami tried to convince him that nothing was wrong with him and that it was okay not to have powers, but Yugi would still catch snide remarks from other gem children. Even their friends had been a little critical when they had first met. He shook his head.

_Pull yourself together,_ he thought to himself, _you just need to get some sleep._ He still couldn't believe the room he was in. He remembered from his toddler years what a real bed was like. But having slept on the floor or on pillows for most of his life, it really was like a palace to him.

It made him feel guilty for not being with Yami. He got to enjoy all these luxuries while Yami had to sleep back at the warehouse, most likely worrying about him. Yugi hoped that was the extent of what Yami was doing, but knowing Yami, he was probably doing something stupid trying to find him.

Yugi walked over to the dresser, hoping to find some kind of sleepwear. He needed a change of clothes. The third drawer he opened yielded a pair of grey track pants and a white tee shirt.

They were far too big. The shirt cam down to his knees he had to roll the waistband on the bottoms up three times for them to fit and even then the pant legs went past his feet. But he didn't mind. At least he had a chance to change.

He walked over to the window and peered out. He was on the third floor of the building and it was a long way down to the ground. He tried pulling up on the window. It seemed to be stuck, no chance of getting out that way.

Yugi sighed and crawled into bed. It was so comfortable. He closed his eyes and was ready for sleep. A few minutes later, he was at the gateway to dreamland but was suddenly yanked back into consciousness with the sound of breaking glass.

* * *

><p>Jounouchi was in the process of pulling on his pajama bottoms when he heard a scream coming from Yugi's room. He jumped, and fell over. Sitting up he grabbed the keys and made his way down the hall.<p>

"Yugi?" he asked through the door, trying to put the key in the lock. Once he succeeded, he turned it and opened the door to see a figure dressed in black with a matching black coat and sunglasses with his one arm wrapped around Yugi's body and one hand covering his mouth.

Yugi's eyes were wide and fixed on Jounouchi, pleading. The figure looked at Jounouchi and smirked, "Well, well, what do we have here? Blondie's here to the rescue. I can see that going well." Jounouchi glowered at the man and stepped forward.

"Hurt him and I swear you won't live to see tomorrow." The figure laughed, "Oh no, I can't agree to that. You see, he's a necessary part of my plan," the figure removed his hand from Yugi's mouth, reached into the back of his belt with blinding speed and put a knife to Yugi's exposed throat, "Come any closer and it'll be the brat that doesn't live to see tomorrow." Jounouchi's eyes widened.

"You wouldn't," he said taking another step forward. The figure pressed the knife closer and beads of blood trickled down while Yugi gasped in pain. Jounouchi froze and the figure became deathly serious.

"I think you'll find I would." Jounouchi cursed and looked at Yugi, who was trembling with sheer terror painted on his face. For some reason, this made Jounouchi angry.

He looked back to the figure who started backing up to the broken window. When Jounouchi looked closer, he could see a rope and a sort of gun thing dangling from it outside as though it were suspended from the roof. _So that's how he got in._

"I'd love to stay and chat Blondie," the figure said once he and Yugi reached the window, "But I have other things I have to do." He threw the knife down and grabbed the gun's handle with his other arm still wrapped around Yugi. _It's now or never_, Jounouchi thought as a plan formed in his mind.

Jounouchi ran forward, punched the mystery figure across the face, grabbed Yugi's arm and yanked him away from the man. Before he could do anything else, the man had grasped Jounouchi's throat and slammed him to the wall.

He made a move to kick the man, but he had put both his feet on top of Jounouchi's, pinning them to the ground. Jounouchi couldn't breathe. He was slowly suffocating. The man smiled and rage intensified within Jounouchi. He punched the man in the gut and he let go. Taking the momentary freedom, Jounouchi pushed the man off him and grabbed his shirt tightly in both hands.

He spun the man around and pushed him to the window. The man was just as fast and gripped Jounouchi's wrists as he stumbled back and out the window. The two bodies were halfway out the window, too overbalanced to stay in the building.

Jounouchi knew he was going to fall and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He closed his eyes to spare himself the sight of his imminent death when he felt the man kick his chest and let go of him. He stayed where he was for a split second before he started falling again.

It was then he felt something catch the back of his shirt. He opened his eyes in confusion to see the ground wasn't rushing toward him, but was staying put. He looked behind him to see Yugi desperately trying to pull him back into the building, his feet digging into the floor, his eyes shut tight, and his jaw clenched. Jounouchi couldn't believe it.

"Yugi…" he said, genuinely touched. The door behind was wide open, Yugi could have taken off, but instead he stayed and saved his life. It was then the teen spoke, "Jou, it'd be nice if you helped." Jounouchi blinked and was brought back to reality.

"Oh right," he grabbed the sides of the window and pushed himself back in the room. Both he and Yugi collapsed on the ground beside each other, trying to slow their racing hearts and recover from the rush of adrenaline that only comes from life threatening danger.

"You okay Yugi?" he asked once he felt somewhat better. He looked at Yugi who had started crying, but still nodded. He jumped up and tried running for the door, but Jounouchi tripped him and raced to shut the door.

He then watched Yugi crawl over to the window and sit down underneath it, wrapping his arms around his legs. He buried his face and began to cry harder and louder than ever. Jounouchi walked over and sat next to him, unsure of what to do.

"I'm sorry, but you know I can't let you go, at least not yet," he said as gently as he could, "But you really were totally awesome back there, thanks." Yugi's shoulders rose and fell rapidly, but he managed to speak between sobs.

"I-I w-want Y-Y-Yami!" Jounouchi put his hand on Yugi's shoulder, "Who's Yami?" Yugi just sobbed harder and his grip on his legs tightened. Jounouchi knew now was not the time for asking questions, so he just sat there and let Yugi cry.

* * *

><p>He was mad. No, mad wasn't strong enough a word. He was furious. Not only did he not get the child and lose his best grappling gun, but his leg was most likely broken and he was pretty sure his arm was fractured.<p>

Despite doing a few back flips to lessen the impact and land on his feet, he still felt the pain. No matter, at least now he knew which twin it was. Though, now he needed to reevaluate what skills he'd need to execute the plan and how to get around the obstacle he had not anticipated.

As he limped off to find somewhere to soothe the pain and bandage himself up, he was already coming up with new plans on how to capture the boy. And this time, he wouldn't miss. One way or another, he'd succeed.

* * *

><p><strong>Desirae: The hell, I thought he was getting kidnapped again!<strong>

**Olivia: Sorry, but I needed something else to happen first. Things were just moving too fast.**

**Desirae: Either way, you're a disappointment.**

**Olivia: *sadface* I'm not.**

**Desirae: Yea, kind of.**

**Olivia: I'm not! I just need one thing to happen before he can be kidnapped... again.**

**Yugi: Please tell me it doesn't involve me getting hurt.**

**Olivia: I can't make any promises.**

**Yugi: *sadface***


	8. Chapter 8

**Desirae: Olivia would like to thank all the people who sympathized with her about the babysitting. **

**Yugi: Why doesn't she thank them herself?**

**Desirae: She's in a coma.**

**Yugi: What?**

**Joey: How did it happen?**

**Desirae: Chocolate. Until we know when and if she'll wake up, I'll just post this for her.**

**Yugi: That's nice of you.**

**Desirae: It is. **

**Joey: What's the catch?**

**Desirae: Let's just say she owes me one. Really, you're better off not knowing until the time is right. *tents fingers with a maniacal smile* Anyway, thank you **DarkHeartInTheSky, ToxicElixir, Pk Love Omega, Kamen-Oh, Youngbountygirl, **and **Luna Vampire Princess** for reviewing. We do not own YuGiOh and blah blah blah.**

**Yugi: And thanks to the reviewer who gave me pixiesticks! They really did help :)**

**Desirae: Shut up and make me a sandwich. Joey, you shine my shoes. And Yami...**

**Yami: Yes?**

**Desirae: Go draw on Olivia's face. Preferably, something obscene.**

**Yami: And if I don't?**

**Desirae: Don't forget, Liv owes me for posting this. I can get her to do (or write) anything... _anything_. You wouldn't want something unfortunate to happen to anyone you care about do you?**

**Yami: *draws on Olivia's face***

**Desirae: Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>That night was horrible for Yami. He tried to sleep, but could only worry about Yugi. He was so consumed with concern, there wasn't any room within himself to feel anything else. That is, nothing else until a sharp pain across his throat made itself known. It felt as though he had just received a cut there. He even checked to see if he was bleeding, but his neck was completely devoid of blood.<p>

But that still didn't mean Yugi's was. He was now convinced their twin empathy had grown to the point that they could feel each other's physical pain. This made him even more scared for Yugi. What on earth was happening to his brother?

He rolled over and looked at Mai, who was sleeping soundly. After they had gotten back from Malik's, she had decided to stay with him until they received any news on Yugi.

She had said it was because she didn't want him to be alone, but Yami had a feeling it was because she wanted to make sure he didn't do anything idiotic. Why did everyone think he would do something stupid?

Yami rolled back over and stared at the ceiling. Normally, the shadows comforted him. They made him feel safe and secure. But tonight, not even their cool, dark embrace was enough to make him feel relaxed.

_I miss you Aibou… my brother._

* * *

><p>Yugi sat at the table the next morning feeling tired and depressed. The near attempt on his life and Jounouchi's was enough to keep him awake all night. Jounouchi had tried staying up with him, but had eventually fallen asleep across his legs. He had tried to push him off, but he had almost no strength left and ended up just sitting there the entire night until Jounouchi had finally woken up.<p>

While sitting with nothing but his thoughts to occupy his time, Yugi wondered who that figure was. Why had he come in the middle of the night to grab him of all people? Sure, he was a gem child, but how did this person know what he was?

He didn't think Jounouchi or Honda would have told anyone. After all, keeping him here and not handing him in to the GC was against the law. Why would they risk themselves even more by telling anyone? Speaking of which, was the guy from the GC? He couldn't be, otherwise he would have had back up or something. And he certainly would have arrested Jounouchi.

"Yugi." He broke his train of thought at Jounouchi's voice and looked up to see him standing there with a plate and a glass of orange juice. Jounouchi's head tilted in concern and he put the plate and glass in front of him.

"Huh?" Yugi asked before he looked down at his plate to see a black circular object with what seemed to be a lopsided smiley face of whipped cream on top. He looked back up at Jounouchi with raised eyebrows. Jounouchi looked sheepish.

"Before my parents got divorced, whenever my sister or I got upset my mom would make us pancakes with a happy face on it. I thought I'd make it to, you know, say thanks for saving me back there. Usually, she put strawberries around it to make it look like the sun, but Ryou didn't have any in the fridge. They're also not supposed to be lopsided or burnt. I'm just not that good at cooking. I'm good at eating though." Yugi laughed.

"Thanks Jounouchi, it still looks good to me." Yugi wasn't even lying. As far as he was concerned, any food was good food. Especially when he didn't have to steal it. Yami never seemed to mind stealing, but Yugi always felt guilty.

The thought of Yami made him sad again, but he tried to push the feeling away for Jounouchi's sake. He didn't want to bring him down, not after he saved his life and gave him food.

* * *

><p>Jounouchi smiled as Yugi dug into his breakfast, clearly enjoying it despite the fact that he was sure it tasted terrible. It seemed no matter what food Jounouchi put in front of Yugi, he'd eat it as though it were a five star gourmet meal. <em>I guess you don't get much on the streets<em>, he thought to himself sadly.

As Jounouchi fixed himself some pancakes, he thought about the events of last night, he was even more puzzled. How did the figure know about Yugi? The only other person who knew was Honda, and he had already sworn himself to secrecy.

Another thing, who was Yami? Jounouchi thought back to the note he had found when he first found Yugi. It had been from Yami, who addressed Yugi as 'Aibou'. Why had Yami left Yugi? It seemed pretty irresponsible, seeing as how Yugi seemed unable to stand up to anyone.

"Jounouchi?" He turned around to face the source of all his questions, "Yea?" Yugi looked down at the table then uncomfortably back up at Jounouchi, "Thanks for saving me last night." Jounouchi smiled.

"No worries, just consider it an apology for knocking you out. I never really said sorry about that, did I?" Yugi laughed and shook his head, "Not in so many words." Jounouchi nodded, feeling bad.

"I am sorry about that by the way. I just wasn't sure how dangerous you were. I never heard of a gem child who doesn't attack people without a second thought. Besides, I didn't know how good a guy you were then." Yugi smiled sadly and nodded.

"There aren't too many like me out there. But you should know, they never attack people for no reason. They only use their powers to defend themselves or get supplies. What you consider an attack is actually defense." Jounouchi was surprised.

"Really? But then, why defend in the first place? It's not like we attack you for no reason." Yugi was quiet for a moment and stared uncomfortably at his hands.

"Actually Jou, that's just it. Sometimes that does happen. People are naturally scared of what they don't understand. No one knows why we are the way we are, so we're naturally feared. With the added bonus of having powers beyond what is considered 'normal', the others are even more feared. Fear creates panic, panic creates hysteria, hysteria creates chaos. I don't think anyone meant for it to happen, but we just ended up being demonized. It's a part of life now." Both were quiet for a while.

Jounouchi didn't know what to think or what to say. He didn't want to believe that people could be so cruel and unjust, but he didn't think Yugi was lying either. He really seemed to know what he was talking about and his conviction never wavered. It seemed to make sense, except one thing.

"Yugi, what did you mean by 'the others'?" Yugi looked up at Jounouchi with an odd expression. He looked like he was about to speak before they heard the front door open.

"Hello!" Jounouchi relaxed as he recognized Honda's voice, "In here!" Honda walked into the kitchen and stopped short with his nose scrunched up, "What's burning in here?" Jounouchi gasped and spun back to the stove.

"MY PANCAKES!"

* * *

><p><strong>Desirae: As usual, Liv leaves me disappointed.<strong>

**Joey: Why are you always so mean to Liv?**

**Desirae: Uh, you can't call her that. **

**Joey: Why not?**

**Desirae: Only I can call her that. Unless I give you clearance.**

**Joey: Do you give me clearance?**

**Desirae: Hardly.**

**Yugi: What about me?**

**Desirae: Yes.**

**Joey: Why him?**

**Desirae: Because you're a dog and don't deserve the privilege.**

**Joey: GRR! *ANGRYFACE***

**Desirae: You're so cute when you're angry ;)**

**Joey: Um... thank you? O.o**

**Desirae: Please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Olivia: Hey... what- what happened? **

**Desirae: Remember how your Mom's boyfriend got that free box of chocolate bars from that one guy and he gave about six or seven of them to you?**

**Olivia: Please don't tell me I-**

**Desirae: Afraid so, or at least, that's what I assume based on all the empty wrappers. Strange how there were more wrappers than I had thought there would be.**

**Olivia: Ugh, I don't feel so well...**

**Desirae: I have just the thing, a reviewer gave us this chocolate for when you woke up!**

**Olivia: Yay! Happiness! Thanks reviewer! *grabs chocolate and eats it happily* Wait, how could a reviewer give me chocolate? I never posted a new chapter.**

**Desirae: I posted your chapter!**

**Olivia: Oh. I see. **

**Desirae: Yep.**

**Olivia: Wait, do you hear that?**

**Desirae: Yea someone's typing.**

**Olivia: What is that?**

**Mystery Typer: OliviaGraham does not own YuGiOh *leaves and disappears into the night laughing***

* * *

><p>Honda rolled his eyes as his friend tried to put out the smoke and looked over at Yugi, who went back to eating. He seemed a little more on edge than yesterday. That's when Honda noticed the red line across his neck.<p>

"Hey kid, what happened there?" Yugi started and looked at him, "Huh?" Honda motioned to his neck, "What happened there?" Yugi brought his fingers to the cut and looked back down. Honda felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Jounouchi.

"Am I missing something?" Jounouchi nodded, "Let's just say we had a long night." Honda smirked at his friend.

"You know I'll need more than that." Jounouchi smirked back and pulled out a chair, "Then sit down and I'll make you breakfast." Honda laughed and held up his hands.

"No way, I'm not eating anything you had a hand in making. Just give me the story."

* * *

><p>As Jounouchi made himself new pancakes, he told Honda everything that happened the night before. When the story ended, Honda was shaking his head.<p>

"Dude, you just don't know when to quit do you? Don't you realize you could have been killed?" Jounouchi shrugged and put his plate on the table, "What can I say, Yugi and I like to live life on the edge." He took a bite of his pancakes and grimaced. _I was right. They taste terrible._

"Damn, sorry Yug. I didn't know how bad these were." Yugi laughed and shook his head, "No, they were fine! And besides, you'll do better next time." Jounouchi laughed.

"Thanks man. Hey, since you're done, why don't you go to Ryou's closet and find a game for us to play today. Take as long as you need, 'cause I'm still eating breakfast." Yugi nodded and put his plate in the sink before going off to find a game. Honda turned on Jounouchi.

"Do you really think it's safe for us to let him-" Jounouchi held up his hand.

"I'm confident Yugi is no danger. He did save me from falling and snapping my neck or something like that. But listen, last night, he mentioned him." Honda looked at his friend as though he were missing something, "Mentioned who?" Jounouchi rolled his eyes.

"Kuriboh, who do you think he talked about?" He reached in his pocket and pulled the note out, then gave it to Honda, "Yami. He started crying and saying he wanted Yami." Honda looked up from the note, "Are you serious? Well that's great. Who is he and did Yugi say what powers he has?" Jounouchi shook his head.

"No, he didn't. He was crying so hard that I felt bad pestering him on it. And the weird thing is, he didn't use any powers to defend himself from that guy. He just looked at me as though I could do something to save him." Honda scrunched his eyebrows.

"How can you be sure? We don't know what kind of powers he has. Maybe he was using them but they didn't work." Jounouchi shook his head, "I just have this feeling that there's something more to it. I think we should lay off trying to get the info for now and just try to make him feel comfortable. It seems like he's really terrified of getting hurt, more so than I think he should be. Maybe he'll open up more if we just let him relax." Honda smirked.

"Are you sure you're not just getting soft?" Jounouchi narrowed his eyes, "Who are you calling soft? This is Katsuya Jounouchi you're talking to! I'm hard- er- I mean, what's the opposite of soft in this case?" Honda just laughed and Jounouchi's anger increased, "Look the point is, I know what I'm doing and we can really get a lot more out of him if we go with my plan." Honda shrugged.

"I don't know man, I guess we can try it your way. But how are we going to watch him during school? I mean, yesterday was a day off, but we still have classes the rest of the week. It's not like we can take him with us." Jounouchi leaned back in his chair, "I'll take a few days off. You can watch him while I do my paper route and I'll watch him the rest of the time. Deal?" Honda smiled.

"Okay, but if either of us gets vaporized or something, I'm going to kill you." Jounouchi laughed, "I don't think we'll have to worry about that, but sure why not?" At that moment, Yugi walked in the room with the game 'Mousetrap' and a big smile.

"Hey, I thought we'd play this game. It was my favourite when I was little." Jounouchi got up and ruffled Yugi's hair, "You mean littler?" Yugi got very red.

"Hey, I'm not _that_ short!" Jounouchi laughed and sat down on the ground, "Whatever you say little man. Let's just set up the game." Yugi laughed copied Jounouchi, emptying out the box and setting the game up while Honda left for school.

* * *

><p>That's pretty much how the next two weeks played out. Jounouchi had taken the days off school to stay with Yugi and play games with him, to which Yugi always seemed to win. For about an hour, Honda would come over and hang out with Yugi while Jounouchi did his paper route. Sometimes he came just to hang.<p>

Jounouchi was always woken up in the middle of the night to the sound of Yugi screaming, but the figure had never come back. Instead, when he unlocked and opened the door, he would find Yugi sitting with his arms around his legs and staring off into space with an expression of sadness and fear. At those times, Jounouchi would just sit with him until he fell back to sleep.

Meanwhile, Yami suffered from vivid, realistic nightmares and woke up screaming in the middle of the night. Because of this, he kept waking up Mai and she would sit with him until he either told her to leave him be or just until he fell asleep. While Yami still had hope Malik's army would find him, he still searched for Yugi himself. Every day that passed, he got more and more worried that he would never see his brother again.

Mai was very supportive and stayed with him during the day as well as night, even with the fits he threw and the insults he spewed her way. No matter how much he made her want to strangle him, she stayed. She knew he was a wreck without his 'lighter half'. He would always apologize afterwards, but it still seemed nothing could pacify him. Nothing but the cold determination to find what had been taken from him.

Nothing exciting happened until the end of the week second week, when both parties experienced something unexpected.

* * *

><p><strong>Olivia: An abandoned keyboard and the next chapter of my story halfway through being updated... this is just weird.<strong>

**Joey: Way to make me look like a jerk again! Sheesh, I thought we were on good terms.**

**Olivia: We've got bigger problem than that. Someone's been messing with my stuff! And no 'Welcome back'? Really?**

**Joey: Welcome back.**

**Desirae: Nice save.**

**Olivia: Okay I might as well finish up and post this. I want to say thank you to **ToxicElixir, DarkHeartInTheSky, Youngbountygirl, Kamen-Oh, Pk Love Omega, DreamixAngel, **and **Luna Vampire Princess** for reviewing! **

**Desirae: Ahem.**

**Olivia: And thanks to Des for posting.**

**Desirae: That's right! Now you owe me.**

**Olivia: And what would that be?**

**Desirae: I'll tell you when the time is right.**

**Olivia: Oh dear Ra help me.**

**Desirae: MUAHAHAHAHA!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Olivia: So... much... things...**

**Joey: What's her problem?**

**Desirae: Just being a drama queen as per usual. You should know, I called in my favour in part.**

**Yugi: In part?**

**Desirae: Well, Olivia needed some, how would you say, inspiration for Yugi's background story. You know, the whole 'what happened to him when Yami left him alone before thing'. So I gave her some pointers. It doesn't count as a favour because I helped her as much as she helped me so she still owes me half a favour. Though, I don't think she did it justice at all.**

**Yugi: Um, when you say pointers, what does that mean?**

**Olivia: Sorry Yugi! :(**

**Yami: You better not have hurt my Aibou...**

**Olivia: Sorry, but I kind of did. I don't know whether the flashback should be T or higher, so I'll just warn you, there's violence. **I don't recommend reading the flashback if you don't like violence.** All you need to know is Yugi gets the stuffing beat out of him and there's a corny ending. Also more gem children (probably).**

**Yami: Don't make me send you to the Shadow Realm. Nobody hurts my Yugi.**

**Olivia: Des helped me with it! Blame her.**

**Desirae: So, did we find the mystery typer yet?**

**Olivia: No. They haven't shown themselves in forever. Which reminds me, we're rambling. Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh.**

**Desirae: And thank you reviewers.**

**Olivia: **Youngbountygirl, ToxicElixir, DarkHeartInTheSky, Kamen-Oh, Luna Vampire Princess, IcyShadowsFTW, **and **Pk Love Omega.

**Desirae: Yea those guys.**

* * *

><p>Jounouchi had yet again awoken to the sound of Yugi screaming and raced down the hall. He unlocked and opened the door to find Yugi with one arm wrapped around his knees with the other wiping sweat off his forehead and him breathing deeply. Jounouchi sighed and calmly walked over to the bed. He sat down and put a hand on Yugi's shoulder, smiling out of sympathy a little as he jumped in surprise.<p>

"Do you want to talk about it tonight?" To his surprise, instead of shaking his head like Yugi always did, he sighed, wrapped his other arm around his legs, and stared at his feet. Jounouchi sat closer to Yugi and waited for him to go on.

"It was about six or seven months ago," Yugi began.

_FLASHBACK_

Yugi peeked his head out around the corner, careful to keep his eyes shadowed by his bangs. The way seemed clear enough. Normally he wouldn't be outside without Yami, especially not slinking around an area that wasn't exactly known for its neighbourly inclinations. Then again, normally he and Yami wouldn't have been separated so easily. He still couldn't believe it.

Earlier they had been breaking into a game shop in hopes of finding something fun to occupy their downtime that was also easy enough to pack up quickly at a moment's notice. Well, Yami had been breaking into the shop; he was the only one who could successfully disable the alarms and security cameras without leaving evidence. Yugi had been waiting outside, keeping a watch out for any passersby.

He had been gazing up at the stars when he heard the sound of feet slamming rapidly and forcefully against the concrete. He turned to go into the shop when the source of the sound raced around the corner and collided into him, knocking both individuals to the ground. Closing his eyes and gasping in pain along with the somebody on top of him, he heard another set of running footsteps approaching.

He didn't have time to react when the weight of the person on top of him, who couldn't possibly weigh more than he himself did, was lifted as though the figure was picked up. Yugi's breath caught in his chest when he heard a voice whisper in his ear, "We were never here."

Even as he heard the footsteps continue past him, he still couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. He was scared and confused as to what happened. Four more sets of footsteps came by and paused in front of him. A pair of strong arms lifted him to his feet. He heard the strong, commanding voice of a man speak to him. Yugi froze. This was the voice of a Gem Con Officer.

"Are you okay, son?" Yugi didn't know what to do, he just kept his eyes shut and nodded. He felt the man rest a firm hand on his shoulder and silently willed Yami to get himself out of the building.

"Son, did you happen to see where the two boys went?" Yugi shook his head, "No, I- I didn't see anyone. I was just walking by myself and tripped over, over my shoe lace." It was a transparent lie and he knew it. Lying just wasn't his strong suit. But there was an unspoken law amoung gem children that you never sold out another gem child, even if your life depended on it.

He didn't know if the boys in question knew he was one too, or even if they were gem children themselves, but he had no intention of breaking that law. He felt the man's hand tighten on his shoulder and he had to focus on keeping his breathing even.

"Son, could you open your eyes for us?" Yugi shook his head slowly and the hand on his shoulder tightened to the point of causing pain. His fear was so intense that he could feel it from the pit of his stomach through to his extremities. A second officer stepped forward and Yugi didn't have to see to know that three weapons were being pointed at him. The second man's voice was far more threatening than the first, "Open your eyes, now."

Yugi felt a harsh tug as the man holding him was propelled back with intense force and opened his eyes to see the men on the ground, guns and all. He turned to the shop to see Yami standing in the doorway, the glow of his eyes fading as he ceased his command of shadows.

The officers got up and as two advanced on Yami, the others advanced on Yugi himself, almost reaching him before Yami's shadows knocked them off their feet again. Yugi's eyes met Yami's and an unspoken message was passed through from the eldest o the youngest, _run._

Yugi bolted down the street, homeward bound, ducking down as many side streets as possible to deter followers as Yami had instructed him to do in this situation. He desperately wanted to stay with Yami to be sure he was okay, but he knew he'd only hinder his brother instead of help him. Besides, he had complete faith in Yami.

That left Yugi in the situation he was in now, looking around the corner and across an empty parking lot. Just a few more streets and he'd be back home. Before dashing out to cross the lot, he closed his eyes and focused on his brother's emotions. He was feeling the rush that only accompanied winning an argument or a game. Yugi smiled. His brother always was one for making anything into a game. Yugi couldn't see why people ever thought Yami was too serious.

"Hey kid!" The voice brought Yugi out of his reverie as he turned around to see a group of people stepping out of the alley he had just passed. How had he not seen them when he ran past? The biggest, whom Yugi suspected was the leader, continued, "You shouldn't be out so late. Don't you know what kind of creeps lurk the streets at night?"

Yugi spun back around and tried to dash off again but after a few seconds of running, he felt someone yank his wrist back, putting an end to his escape. A few seconds later, he was surrounded. This was just not his night. One of the group members came up to him and lifted his chin to look into his eyes. The rather large male gasped and turned to his friends.

"Hey, this ain't no kid. It's gem child." A few of the group backed up while one of them snickered and turned to the leader, "It doesn't look so tough, Hirutani. I say we take it and hand it over to Gem Con. We'll get a nice reward that way." _Oh for the love of crap, _Yugi thought as his fear levels spiked to the highest they had been all night, _Fate is just not on my side tonight_. The one called Hirutani extended his arm to stop his friend from walking forward.

"We could do that," he said calmly with a hint of malice, "or we could do that after we have a little fun. You were talking about how we don't have any ways to blow off steam lately." The group glared down at Yugi. He took a step back, his eyes widening, if possible, even more with terror.

He was pushed down on the concrete as the men formed a circle around him. Some cracked their knuckles while others grinned maniacally as their rings glinted in the moonlight. Yugi shuddered. Hirutani stepped forward and glared down at the trembling boy.

He kicked Yugi square in the chest, sending searing pain throughout his body and successfully knocking the breath out of him. The rest of them joined in, spewing insults in the process, and soon every part of his body had either been punched, kicked, or stepped on. He couldn't tell where the hits were coming from, or even make out their faces anymore. However, he didn't need to see them. Their faces were already burned into his memory.

Surely, Yami would have felt Yugi's overwhelming fear by now. Even if he was in the midst of his own battle, how could he not? Yugi's heart was pounding so vigorously every beat felt like another punch in his chest and it was difficult for him to breathe, he was so scared. The hits he took didn't help in lowering his too fast breathing and heart rates either. The physical and verbal hits, though it was getting harder and harder to hear the verbal ones.

He hoped Yami was okay and that he could find and save him from any more of this torture. It seemed his bruises were getting bruises. He even heard a few gut wrenching cracks of bone breaking but that pain was just masked by the rest. At this point, Yugi was positive he was going to die.

Mercifully, the hits came sparser and fewer until it felt like only one or two people were still going at him. The others must have gotten tired, or bored. Finally the other hits stopped for a moment.

Yugi lay there gasping for breath. Despite the muffled sounds he heard and mental sluggishness, the pain didn't feel any less dull. It was as though all that existed was the pain. Then Hirutani spoke.

"Open your eyes! We're not done with you yet." Yugi hadn't realized he'd closed his eyes. But he didn't want to comply, not that he could if he wanted to. He couldn't remember how to open them. Another blow to the face came, followed by cold steel pressed against his neck.

"Open them or-" Hirutani's voice was suddenly cut off, the knife disappeared, and then all Yugi could hear were screams. What was going on? He sensed something brush across his arm and through the pain of being touched, he felt the cool chill of darkness he could recognize anywhere and it filled him with such relief, he could have burst. Shadows.

"I shall have all your heads for what you've done! Penalty Game!" Yugi hear the men shriek in terror and it made him wonder what they could be seeing that would frighten such heartless and cruel people enough to utter such sounds of horror.

When he heard sickening ripping and snapping noises closely followed by cries of pain, he was suddenly very glad he couldn't see what was happening. After about two or three minutes, the sound silence graced Yugi's ears. He heard footsteps carefully approach him and someone gently brushed the bangs out of his eyes.

"Aibou?" he heard the familiar voice say hesitantly yet desperately, "Yugi, it's me, Yami." Yugi wanted to respond, but try as he might, he couldn't find the words to do it. Yami spoke up again, "Yugi, you're going to be okay. I'll just take you home and then we can fix you up. It's probably not as bad as you think. You're going to be alright, I swear." It seemed Yami was trying to convince himself more than his brother. Yugi felt hands try to lift him up and even the soft touch sent immense pain throughout his body.

He groaned and clenched his jaw, but that just caused him more pain. Hot tears burst from his closed eyes. He felt the hands instantly leave him and tiny wet drops fell on his skin, stinging him. Yami was crying. But, Yami never cried. Yugi had to stop him, it wasn't right for Yami to cry.

"I'm so sorry," Yami said with a thick voice, "I should have kept you with me. I should have gotten here sooner. I should have put them through more hell for what they did. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." Yugi tried to move closer to Yami to try and comfort him, to tell him it wasn't his fault, but his body wouldn't let him.

"Y-Yami?" Yugi finally managed to choke out. Yami's tears stopped falling and Yugi felt him come a little closer, "Yes Aibou?" Yugi's eyes slowly fluttered open and he could now see Yami's panic-stricken, tear stained face. His heart broke at seeing him so scared and worried, and that he was the one who caused him to feel like this. Still, he couldn't help but feel joy at the truly gratifying fact that his brother was here with him, that his brother had saved him. Even the pain couldn't stop the small smile from gracing his lips.

"Let's… home." he said. He may be hurt now, and he may hurt for a while after, but he knew by looking into those ruby eyes that he'd be safe and protected as long as Yami had a say in anything. However, Yami still looked hesitant.

"Are you sure? The last thing I want to do is hurt you." Yugi tried to nod with difficulty and immediately regretted his decision when the fiery pain shot through his neck to the top of his head. He groaned and the world turned black.

_END FLASHBACK_

"Later we found out from a, um, 'friend' of a friend that I had a fractured skull, some internal bleeding, and a few broken or cracked bones. They said it could have been a lot worse and that I was lucky to survive." Jounouchi was shocked, that story was just so horrible. He let Yugi continue his speech.

"Ever since that night, I've been having nightmares about it and I haven't been apart from Yami since then. Well, the night before the day you found me was the exception for both, and look what happened. I've been essentially kidnapped and now I have some psycho after me for no obvious reason." Jounouchi was quiet for a while. He didn't know what to think or what to say.

"Damn," he finally said, "I'm sorry that happened to you. It's no surprise you're having nightmares." He mentally kicked himself for not being able to say anything remotely helpful. Where were comfort pancakes when you needed them? Yugi nodded and continued staring at his feet. Jounouchi leaned back against the wall, thinking.

"Well, that does explain why you were so scared when I first met you and why you never wanted to make eye contact. And it does explain why Hirutani and his gang mysteriously went missing. If it makes you feel any better, I punched that guy in the face." Yugi smirked.

"I heard. It's one of the things that scared me a lot when you first brought me here. You mentioned his name and I thought maybe you were friends with him. Once you started being nice to me I realized you probably weren't." Jounouchi nodded sadly.

"I used to be, back in the day. But he just got too hardcore and I had to get out of that friendship. He kept trying to bring me back in his little gang, he even threatened to taser me to death, but I always said no. Eventually we had a brawl and he left me alone after that." Yugi looked up at Jounouchi and smiled.

"I'm glad you left them." Jounouchi grinned, "Yea, me too." The two looked away from each other and were silent for a while, alone in their own little worlds. Finally, Jounouchi couldn't take it anymore and turned to Yugi, "Um, so who is Yami to you, exactly?"

Yugi bit his lip and glanced sideways at Jounouchi, "I can trust you completely right?" As a wave of guilt from the plan washed over Jounouchi, he nodded, "Of course you can." Yugi smiled and nodded.

"Yami's my older brother. We've been together as long as I can remember. He's looked after me since the age of five and he's my best friend in the whole world." Jounouchi nodded, "You must miss him a lot then." Yugi nodded sadly, "Yea, I do. And I can feel he's missing me all the time too." Jounouchi felt his pulse rising a little bit as he questioned further.

"Is he a gem child like you?" Yugi shook his head, "No, he's not like me. He's powerful, probably the most powerful I know. He can bend and twist the shadows to do anything he wants." Jounouchi's eyes widened as realization hit him, "He's the one that made those guys disappear." Yugi nodded.

"He never told me what he did to them. But whatever he did, he did it to save me. I'm not strong, so it was more my fault than his." Jounouchi was at a crossroads now. He knew if he ever came face to face with this Yami, he'd probably be killed slowly and painfully, regardless of what or who stood in his way. Yugi on the other hand, was the opposite.

Jounouchi couldn't keep him here. If he was found out, he, Jounouchi, would be arrested for harboring a gem child. Besides, he couldn't stay away from classes forever and Ryou was bound to come home soon. So now he was faced with two choices.

Option one, he could go through with the original plan in part by calling Gem Con and have them take Yugi away. He would collect the reward money and pay off his father's debts with his share. But if he were to do that, he wouldn't know what they would do to Yugi. It wasn't like Gem Con really advertised what actually happened to gem children except to say that they were 'eliminated', 'done with', or 'taken care of'. Jounouchi didn't think he could live with the guilt if any more harm were to befall Yugi.

Option two, he could let Yugi leave and pretend that this never happened. He personally preferred this option. But if he were to do that, he couldn't be sure that Yugi would be able to find his way home safely, if at all. He was unconscious for the duration of the trip. Besides, with Yugi's luck, Gem Con could catch him anyway, or possibly the mystery man who had almost killed them both.

Jounouchi felt his phone in his pocket. He had brought it with him just in case that guy came back and he needed back up from Honda. He sighed and reached into his pocket. He knew what he had to do.

**Joey: WHAT? It ends with me reaching into my pocket! I'm not going to call Gem Con. No way.**

**Yugi: I sure hope not, that was so mean Olivia! You just love to see me suffer, don't you? :(**

**Desirae: You think you guys have got it bad? She ruined my suggestions to her! She really watered down the beating.**

**Everyone: ...**

**Desirae: I am an artist! My work was compromised!**

**Olivia: Your work? I wrote it!**

**Desirae: And look what happened. True art has been tainted, tarnished, never to be realized because of the cliche-ness. There's no point.**

**Olivia: And _I'm_ the drama queen.**

**Desirae: If you don't recommend reading the flashback, why make it more than half of the chapter anyway?**

**Olivia: I don't know, I guess it didn't really occur to me until we scrolled down how long it was.**

**Yami: So, which one should I send to the Shadow Realm?**

**Olivia: Not me! If I'm gone, who will write this and give it a happy ending, maybe.**

**Yami: I don't like that maybe...**

**Desirae: Please review and hopefully save me from the Shadow Realm. Oh, and Olivia would like it. Flames welcome.**

**Olivia: Why flames?**

**Desirae: If I had my own FanFic account, that's what I'd be sending you.**

**Olivia: You suck :(**

**Desirae: ;)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Desirae: It's about time. You told me you were going to upload this yesterday. And my throat hurts. Why can't you get me some lozenges?**

**Olivia: I'm sick too.**

**Desirae: All the more reason you could have uploaded yesterday. And this room is too green. Why can't we do this in our room?**

**Joey: Is it just me, or is Des complaining more than usual?**

**Olivia: A reviewer said she complains too much, so she's doing it out of spite.**

**Desirae: Why do you get to explain it? I could do a way better job. My back is itchy, can you scratch it for me?**

**Yami: MIND CRUSH!**

**Desirae: *drops to the floor***

**Olivia: O.O**

**Yami: She was annoying me, I figured I'd take that reviewer's advice.**

**Olivia: Fair enough. Anyway, I'm like to take this moment to say thank you to all my reviewers: **IcyShadowsFTW, Youngbountygirl, ToxicElixir, DreamixAngel, Luna Vampire Princess, DarkHeartInTheSky, azure blue espeon, Pk Love Omega, **and **Kamen-Oh.** Also, I do not own YuGiOh**

**Desirae: *drool***

* * *

><p>Yami woke up screaming yet again, perspiration coating his forehead, and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. After wiping his brow, he hugged his legs close to his body. He jumped as he felt someone's hand touch his shoulder, only to realize it was only Mai. She smiled sympathetically at him.<p>

"Do you want to talk about it tonight?" she asked gently. Yami looked away from her and sighed, "I keep seeing him just as he was that night. It's so vivid, it feels like I'm reliving it. I just keep running, trying to find him. I didn't know where he was." He rested his head on his knees before he continued.

"Thank the heavens above I had turned that corner when I did. I ran towards the group. There was one guy holding a knife to his throat and everyone else just stood there, but I knew. They had blood, _his_ blood, on their fists and shoes.

"I don't remember most of what I did, I was just so angry. The weird thing is, I liked it. I enjoyed causing these men pain. I know it's a horrible thing, but in a sick way, it was some of the most fun I've had.

"When I was done I just stood there with the shadows and what was left of those, those, vile excuses for humans surrounding me. I allowed the shadows to swallow them before I made my way to- to Yugi. He just looked so broken…" Yami was lost in thought now, trapped in the memory of finding his brother.

Mai took her hand off his person and instead wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace. He raised his head slowly and she smiled sympathetically at him, wordlessly saying everything would be all right. He smiled back.

"Thank you, Mai. I don't know what I'd do without you." She smirked, "You'd probably crash and burn. I doubt you'd be able to tie your shoes without me." Yami glared at her.

"I think I've managed that pretty well so far on my own." Mai laughed and ruffled his hair, "That's because I've been taking care of everything else so you don't have to worry your spiky little head over it." He rolled his eyes, gently pushed her away and shook his head.

"You're not a very good distraction, you know that?" Mai mirrored his pose and wrapped her arms around her knees as well, "And here I thought I was doing a good job." The two sat in silence for a while, neither daring to break it. It was a good five minutes before anyone said anything.

* * *

><p>Mai just sat there, wondering if she should stay up with Yami until he fell asleep or succumb to sleep herself until Yami's words shattered her thoughts.<p>

"Do you know what makes this all worse?" Mai turned to him with questioning eyes, "What?" Yami looked her in the eye and Mai was shocked to realize he looked so much older than he really was. He stared at her with unwavering sadness.

"What makes this worse is that this was totally preventable. If it hadn't been for Malik's doctor 'friend', I might lost him forever. So of course, I go ahead and make the same stupid mistake of leaving him on his own. I had promised myself he'd never end up like that again and now, that's what I fear most. For the second time, I've failed him." Mai blinked.

"But you have that twin empathy. If that were ever to happen again, you'd know." Yami shook his head, "I don't know if that's enough. It's been weird lately." Mai cocked her head.

"Weird how?" Yami stared at a spot on the floor with such fierce concentration you'd think he were trying to burn a hole through it.

"I haven't been able to get a clear emotion from him. It's just a whirlwind of feeling with no real dominant emotion. Sometimes I think he's scared, then depressed, then frustrated, then happy, and then trapped. It's an ever-changing cycle. And with my own emotions interfering, I can't be sure of anything. Sometimes I can't even feel him at all. It's when I can't feel him that I think he's in most danger. I mean, I didn't feel him when those thugs had him until after I finished 'playing' with the Gemologist Constabulary Officers and put them down for a 'nap'." Mai didn't know what to say.

"Well, if there are times he's happy, then there must be some good thing with him." Yami didn't seem to allow himself even that hope, "I thought about that, but then he feels sad, like he misses me, and other times he feels like a bird in a cage. And what about the pain I felt across my throat a little while back? If he was fine, I wouldn't have felt that. And then shortly after that, I couldn't feel him for a while." Mai put her fingers to Yami's throat.

"But you felt him since then, right?" Yami nodded and Mai smiled, "Then there's still hope." Yami smiled before he heard a chorus of footsteps making their way up the stairs. The two leapt to their feet, Mai pulling a dagger from it's sheath around her thigh, before they saw Malik's head pop up with three other men behind him.

"Malik," Mai sighed as she put the dagger back in it's hiding spot, "Didn't you hear it's rude not to knock?" Malik shook his head, "Pleasantries can wait. For now, we have more serious business to attend to. We may have found Yugi."

* * *

><p>Yami was dumbstruck, "You found him?" He was so ecstatic he couldn't believe it. But despite the joy he felt, he made no sign of his true emotions. He was just to shocked to move a muscle. Malik shook his head.<p>

"We _may_ have found him. A mind slave- sorry, a _friend_ of mine spotted a small boy being transported on a motorcycle a couple weeks ago with two older teenagers about fifteen blocks from here. It's not much, but it's the best lead we've got. Do you want to formulate a plan now or wait until morning?" Yami shook his head.

"The plan is we go in there and get him. I say we go now." Mai shook her head though Yami couldn't understand why. Didn't she want Yugi back too?

"Yami, we can't just barge in there. What if Yugi isn't there anymore? What if the people who took him there have special protection from the GC? We need to think of a strategy thoroughly. You know that better than anyone. What did you tell me? A well thought out plan is the best defense, offence, and advantage." Yami shook his head.

"If there's even the smallest chance he's there, we have to go for it. Besides, you know better than anyone that my powers don't work well in daylight, if at all. We can't wait for morning. I want to attack when my powers are at their full power. No one hurts my brother an gets away with it."

* * *

><p><strong>Olivia: Bet you thought you'd find out what Jounouchi was going to do. Wrong! :P<strong>

**Desirae: Bet you thought I was still in the Shadow Realm. WRONG! ;)**

**Joey: Whoa! What the- I thought- how are you back?**

**Desirae: I know a guy.**

**Olivia: Ugh, I knew it was too good to be true.**

**Desirae: Take THAT DreamixAngel! Also, a shout out to my friend Sage for at least attempting a flame.**

**Olivia: Why the flames? :(**

**Desirae: I already explained. Sometimes I wish you weren't so stupid.**

**Olivia: :(**

**Joey: So are we ever going to find out what I'm going to do?**

**Olivia: Next chapter, I promise. Scout's honour.**

**Desirae: You were never a scout.**

**Olivia: Close to it. I was in Sparks.**

**Desirae: You were never a scout.**

**Olivia: Please review!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Olivia: Okay, now we get to find out what Joey does.**

**Desirae: Whoop-di-doo.**

**Joey: So am I a jerk or no?**

**Olivia: You have to read to find out. Anyway, I'd like to take the time to say thank you to my reviewers, **azure blue espeon, DarkHeartInTheSky, Youngbountygirl, ToxicElixir, IcyShadowsFTW, Atemxyugi kfXjinx, I'm sorry but no, **and **Luna Vampire Princess**. I always love and appreciate the reviews and they just make me smile so much :D**

**Desirae: Let's just get on with it. We don't own YuGiOh.**

**Yugi: Someone's impatient.**

**Desirae: Someone's in for a world of hurt if they don't leave me alone.**

**Olivia: Don't mind her, she's just upset because the cat got her stress ball stuck under the couch.**

**Desirae: And I can't get him back for it because the little b*****d ran outside. But he'll be back.**

**Olivia: LEAVE MY CAT ALONE!**

* * *

><p>Yugi watched as Jounouchi took something out of his pocket. It had to be something small enough that he could conceal it in his hand. The torn look on Jounouchi's face was enough to frighten Yugi a little.<p>

"Jou, is something wrong?" Jounouchi nodded and handed Yugi whatever was in his hand. Yugi took it to find it was a crumpled up post it note, much like the one he and Yami used back at the warehouse. He smoothed out the sheet and his jaw dropped at seeing his brother's neat penmanship telling him he would be back from the market soon. Confused, Yugi looked up at Jounouchi.

"Why do you have this?" Jounouchi took a deep breath.

"I found it on the floor when I first met you. It doesn't say 'Yugi' though." Yugi smiled proudly.

"Yea, 'Aibou' is Yami's nickname for me. It's a long story." Jounouchi smirked.

"That makes sense. I thought maybe you were using an alias or something." He paused and took a deep breath, "Yugi, you're one of the best guys I know. You're so honest and, well, I think you deserve the truth. I lied about why I didn't send you in to Gem Con…"

* * *

><p>Jounouchi explained to Yugi all about the plan to use him to gather information on Yami to capture him and send the both of them to Gem Con for twice the reward to split with Honda. Yugi listened with wide eyes that so clearly displayed his fear and hurt.<p>

Those eyes scared Jounouchi, but in a different way from the time he had first seen them. The truth was, now he didn't care if Honda thought he was soft. In all honesty, Honda would agree with his decision, probably. He just didn't want Yugi to hate him. He liked this little guy. By the time Jounouchi had finished his story, Yugi was completely pale.

"You- you were going to call the GC anyway? You were going to have Yami arrested too?" Jounouchi nodded, ashamed.

"I swear I wouldn't have even thought about had I known what you were like." Yugi looked back at him, as though this would somehow resolve the conflicting emotions and inner turmoil he was clearly experiencing.

"I- I can't- I- I thought you were my friend!" Jounouchi put a hand on Yugi's shoulder to try and calm him down, or at least get him to focus and pay attention.

"I am your friend. That's why I'm telling you this now. I can't do it. I can't send you away to have who knows what done to you. But I can't keep you here because Ryou could be back soon and I don't know how he'll take, well, this." Yugi slumped down on the pillows with his back against the headboard and sighed sadly.

"So what are you going to do with me then?" There was no bitterness or anger in his voice at all. All that was evident was dejection with a tinge of worry. Jounouchi took his hand back and stood up.

"What else can I do? I'm going to take you back to the warehouses myself." Yugi's eyes, if possible, had gotten even wider.

"You can't go to the warehouses! If Yami were to see you with me he'd, well, let's just say you'll perform the same disappearing act as Hirutani." Jounouchi suppressed a shudder and put on a brave face.

"Well how else would you find your way back? You were kind of knocked out the entire way here. Come on, it's the least I could do." Yugi stared blankly up at him with apparently every emotion he'd felt that day warring for dominance over his face. Slight annoyance won.

"I've lived out there most my life. I could walk through this city _blindfolded_ and _still_ make it to my destination." Joey sighed. He was determined to get his way.

"Yugi, I'm not going to take no for an answer. I am making things up to you, and to do that, I'm going to get you home safely, tonight. We can't have you running into Gem Con, can we? At least if you're with me, we'll be less likely to be found out." Yugi looked down as though he were thinking before looking back up at Jounouchi again.

"We could leave in the morning if you want. It's be safer for you." Jounouchi shook his head.

"To be honest, Yugi, I don't think taking you in the day will make much of a difference. If Yami is as protective as you say he is, I'm in trouble either way. Besides, the less people on the streets, the easier it will be to get you home. Now are you coming with me or do I have to knock you out again?" Yugi blinked a couple times in surprise at the outburst, but nodded slowly and hesitantly. This was enough for Jounouchi.

"Great. Now, we have to walk because we don't have the motorcycle and I can't steer if you sat on the handlebars of my bike." Yugi nodded again and the two headed out. Jounouchi was glad he'd bothered to memorize the route.

* * *

><p>Yugi couldn't believe what Jounouchi had told him. It had just been so horrible to hear. How could he do that? Then again, he hadn't actually done anything. But he intended to, before he changed his mind. Yugi shook his head. This was all so confusing.<p>

He didn't know how to feel. Should he feel betrayed and angry that someone he thought was his friend would even consider handing him over to an organization that would more likely than not kill him, or should he feel thankful and relieved that his friendship with this person had saved him from that fate?

One thing was for sure though. Once they reached their destination, he would do everything he could to protect Jounouchi from Yami. Even though he didn't know whether he could trust Jounouchi or not, he couldn't bear the thought of something bad happening to him. Regardless of his previous intentions, he was still his friend.

_He's still my friend_, he thought. That thought alone was more than enough to convince Yugi that he shouldn't hold anything against Jounouchi. He was safe because Jounouchi was a good person, and a good friend. So what if he almost made a mistake? He was just misinformed and scared. He knows better now.

Yugi looked up at the street signs. He recognized the area now, and he knew they were close. He looked up Jounouchi and smiled. He didn't look scared at all. Yugi wished he could be like that. Then a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Well, well, look what we have here?" The boys froze and looked behind them to see figure, clad in trademark black attire and sunglasses, behind them. The only difference was, this man was paler than the last, and his hair safely tucked away under a black tuque. He stood with his arms crossed and a very slight smirk on his face.

"And here I thought that you would have released him earlier. I was starting to get impatient." He walked forward as Jounouchi assumed a fighting stance.

"Leave us alone, um, whatever your name is!" The man's smirk widened, but he stopped, "Why hello, Blondie is it? I believe I have a score to settle with you. You caused my partner to break his leg when you pushed him out of that damn window." Jounouchi's eyes narrowed, out of anger or confusion, Yugi didn't know. Maybe it was both.

"And you are you and your partner? Are you with Gem Con?" The man chuckled.

"That's for us to know and him to find out," he motioned to Yugi before continuing, "Now if you don't mind, you have something that I desire. Hand over the boy, I'm only asking once." Jounouchi shook his head slowly and deliberately. The figure slowly uncrossed his arms.

"That's too bad… for you anyway." With that, the man revealed the gun he'd been concealing under his arm, "Any final words before I send you to oblivion?"

* * *

><p><strong>Joey: OH SNAP!<strong>

**Olivia: Sorry, but it had to be done.**

**Joey: You better not kill me.**

**Desirae: She could. She's a pushover and I still have the favour she owes me.**

**Joey: Why would you want me dead? I'm loveable, ol' Joey.**

**Desirae: I don't know, boredom?**

**Olivia: ... I'm not a pushover.**

**Yugi: Please review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Olivia: Before we find out if I killed Joey or not, I just want to take the time to wish my little sister a Happy Birthday :D**

**Yugi: Aw, how old is she?**

**Olivia: She's seven as of yesterday.**

**Joey: Great, awesome, congratulations to her for living seven years. Now can we find out what happens to me?**

**Desirae: Ugh, stop whining. I hate when people do that.**

**Olivia: Said that pot to the kettle.**

**Desirae: Hey, guess what?**

**Olivia: What?**

**Desirae: *whips stress ball at Olivia***

**Olivia: OW!**

**Desirae: Anyway, thanks to **Spindlegal, Kamen-Oh, DarkHeartInTheSky, Youngbountygirl, Luna Vampire Princess, ToxicElixir, IcyShadowsFTW, I'm sorry but no, DreamixAngel, Atemxyugi kfXjinx, diligent-trust, **and **sorceress of the nile **for your reviews. They were very much appreciated. Now-**

**Olivia: *tackles Desirae* **

**Desirae: Oof.**

**Olivia: Sorry, but you kind of *gets pushed off by Des***

**Tristan: Woo-hoo! Cat fight!**

* * *

><p>"NO!" Jounouchi heard the voice before he saw Yugi leap in front of him with his arms spread out protectively. <em>Yugi…<em>Jounouchi was frozen as he stared into the barrel of the gun being pointed at him. The man holding it was full out grinning now and Jounouchi's end seemed imminent.

The man chuckled as he looked at Yugi. The barrel of the gun was just an inch or two away from Yugi's face. Yugi himself, despite the defensive stance he took, was trembling ever so slightly in fear. The man tilted his head to the side.

"Well now, you're protecting your captor I see. Sorry, I mean your _former_ captor. You do realize that if I were to pull the trigger your life would end right here, right now?" Yugi glared at the man in response and ceased his trembling.

"I don't care! I won't let you hurt my friend!" Jounouchi's eyes widened at this. Yugi still considered him a friend, even after all he did, and all he planned to do. He was touched, but the feeling was almost completely overshadowed by the fear he felt since Yugi stepped in front him. The man shrugged.

"Pity I have to do this the hard way," he said with a smile. He quickly, and forcefully hit the butt of the gun against Yugi's temple, causing him to drop to the ground, unconscious. Without a second thought, Jounouchi fell to his friend's side.

"Yugi!" He turned to the man with fire in his eyes, "You bastard! Why are you doing this?" The man leapt and kicked Jounouchi in the chest, knocking him on his back.

"I can't very well go after his brother, can I?" He grabbed a hold of Jounouchi's collar and dragged him to an alley. Jounouchi fought and tried to stand up, but he couldn't get a good footing. He finally managed to stand, only have the man grab his legs and flip him into a dumpster. He made a move to get back up but stopped when he was greeted by the sight of the gun again being pointed between his eyes.

"If you see the brat's brother, tell him to follow the lights if he wants to know why the power's out. If he wants another clue, it'll be a part of his life that's been ripped to pieces. His brother will be waiting. Oh, and uh, wait five minutes before getting out or I'll have to shoot the kid then you." With that, he shut the lid over Jounouchi's head, plunging him into smelly darkness.

Jounouchi had no choice. He stayed put, counting off the seconds in his head. When he reached the five minute mark, he pushed the lid up and tried climbing out but the lid fell back down and smacked his head. Frustrated, he pushed the lid up and back until it hit the wall and climbed out. By the time he did, Yugi and the man were gone.

* * *

><p>He laughed. He deserved a good laugh. He finally got what he and his partner in crime wanted. The twin, Yugi, was passed out in the passenger seat of the car. As an added bonus, he got to throw that annoying blonde in a dumpster too. The boys didn't even see it coming, or his trailing them for that matter.<p>

He really could have just killed the blonde, that would have been the easier option. However, that would have left a body, not to mention a trail. Besides, he needed the message delivered if he wanted the plan to work, and at least this way if the blonde were to go to the authorities, he would be incriminating himself as well as risking his friend's life.

Of course, if his partner's plan worked, the blonde's friend wouldn't be alive for long. Maybe at that point he could give the body back to him, just to see the look on his face. Maybe he could give him both bodies.

He rounded the corner and pulled into his parking spot. He got out, then pulled Yugi across the seats then out the door. He slammed the car shut with his foot and carried the boy into the building before him.

It was only a matter of time until they acquired the matching set.

* * *

><p>Jounouchi smelled horrible but that was the least of his worries. He needed to find Yugi and get him back to his brother. The problem was, he didn't know where the mystery man had taken him.<p>

"Yugi?" he called out hesitantly. He knew Yugi couldn't possibly hear him, but at least he was doing something. He ran down the street a little bit and called him again. He was about to call a third time when he felt something that felt almost like a spider web hitting his side with such a force that somehow managed to slam his back into the wall with and probably leave a bruise. He looked down and saw ice cold, dark bands wrapped around his arms and waist. What was going on?

He looked up and was startled to see none other than Yugi stepping out of the shadows. Jounouchi was so relieved to see his friend was okay, but something was off. How did he get away? Hadn't he been unconscious mere minutes ago? Why also, did he seem so… different? He seemed almost dangerous. Jounouchi hesitated before speaking.

"Y-Yugi?" His supposed friend glowered at him and took a step closer and that was when Jounouchi noticed that this Yugi had narrow, cold, ruby eyes that almost seemed to be glowing, not the wide, unguarded, amethyst eyes he had come to know. This Yugi also looked as though he were contemplating the best way to end Jounouchi's life, or at least the best way to torture him. He decided to take a shot in the dark.

"Yami?" This made Sadistic Yugi pause and an unidentifiable emotion to cross his face briefly.

"You… know me?" Jounouchi nodded and hurried through his explanation before Yami recovered from the apparent shock.

"Yea, Yugi told me he had a brother. Look, we have to help him, he's in trouble!" Yami's face darkened even more as his rage evidently flared and before Jounouchi knew what was happening, he couldn't see, speak or even breathe. The same spider web feeling was spread over his face and neck, but his ears remained untouched.

Jounouchi struggled, trying to shake the feeling off, to draw much needed air into his burning lungs. But no matter how hard he fought, the dark bands, which he guessed were the shadows Yugi had mentioned, never gave. Was he going to suffocate? He heard Yami move closer to him and speak. His voice was low and dangerous, each word articulated deliberately.

"Where is he?" The shadows lifted from Jounouchi's nose and mouth, and he gasped for breath but he fought to tell Yami what he knew.

"He was… taken by… a man in black," Jounouchi managed as he panted heavily, "His partner… tried to take him… from me before." His eyes were still covered so he could only imagine how well Yami was taking this news. Because the shadows once again covered his nose and mouth, he could assume it wasn't very well at all.

"What you're saying is, he was kidnapped from the kidnapper? I find that highly unlikely." Yami's voice dropped to almost a whisper, but it was even more terrifying than when he was using his previous, commanding tone, "Do you realize what I could do to you? I could rip your head from your shoulders if I wished it. I could literally tear you limb from limb as slowly and painfully as possible without so much as laying a finger on you. You might want to cooperate with me."

Jounouchi felt the shadows constrict tighter around his neck and if the shadows hadn't been blocking out everything, he would have been seeing spots. If this went on any longer, he'd probably pass out. The shadows' grip of his throat loosened and he again had access to use his mouth.

"I… know…" he gasped, "Yugi… told me... about… the gang. But listen… please… we have to… hurry… I owe him… and you." There was a pause and with the total blindness, Jounouchi's heart pounded all the more. Slowly, he felt the shadows leave his eyes and he could see again. He hadn't realized Yami was standing so close, they were only a foot apart. Yami's eyes bored into Jounouchi's own as he spoke.

"Why should I trust you? Why would it matter to you if any harm were to befall a worthless gem child?" Jounouchi stared back with conviction and his fear evaporated from within him.

"Because I'd rather die than let anyone hurt my friend."

* * *

><p>Yami didn't know what to make of this. He had been on his way to where Malik's 'friend' had said Yugi was when he had heard this person calling for his brother. Yami recognized this blonde from the day Yugi went missing, but he hadn't expected this kind of response from his brother's kidnapper. The adolescent's tone seemed sincere enough, but Yami was still very suspicious. After all, this <em>was<em> the man that caused him all this anguish. How could he be Yugi's friend?

Yami wouldn't allow himself to fully trust this person, but he would allow a temporary truce. He knew the blonde knew more about the situation than he or the rest of his group, so that made him useful… for now. He called the shadows back and the man fell to his hand and knees.

"You're on probation. Help find my brother, and I _might_ let you live. If you don't, I won't. Are we clear?" The blonde stood up, rubbing his neck, and nodded.

"Yea, help Yugi or else. I got it." Yami nodded and turned to the alley he had come from and gave his friends the okay to come out.

"Let's go."

* * *

><p><strong>Olivia: *panting on floor* Okay *pant* Des. *pant* Truce?<strong>

**Desirae: *panting* No *pant* I'm gonna *pant* beat you.**

**Olivia: Oh just *pant* give it up.**

**Desirae: Never!**

**Joey: Wow, I don't die and I got to witness an actual cat fight. Not a bad day for Joey Wheeler.**

**Desirae: *kicks Joey in the shin***

**Joey: OUCH!**

**Desirae: Okay Liv, now I'm ready for a truce now.**

**Yugi: Sure, Joey doesn't die but I get kidnapped again. I don't even get powers in this chapter, what a rip off!**

**Desirae: If I haven't said it yet I'll say it now, quit your b****ing!**

**Olivia: Please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Olivia: Alright, next chapter! :)**

**Desirae: And we have a special treat for everyone!**

**Oliva: Um, Des, we talked about this.**

**Desirae: Yea, we talked about it. Anyway, here as a guest, we have a reviewer who has challenged me to a fight. How foolish she is to think she can kick my a$$.**

**Olivia: Look, Des, it's not up to you-**

**DreamixAngel: It's not up to you either. Desirae needs to be taught a lesson.**

**Desirae: So do you. No one challenges me without going down.**

**DreamixAngel: Bring it on.**

***Desirae and reviewer start kicking, punching, pulling hair, etc.***

**Olivia: Um, while they're uh, fighting, I'll take the time to thank the people who reviewed. Thanks to **InsaneEvilLittleEmmy, Youngbountygirl, ToxicElixir, DarkHeartInTheSky, sorceress of the nile, I'm sorry but no, IcyShadowsFTW, Spindlegal, DreamixAngel**-**

**DreamixAngel: You're welcome! *knocks Des to the ground***

**Olivia: Uh, right, anyway, where was I... oh right. Thanks to **Atemxyugi kfXjinx, Mimi, **and** Luna vampire princess**. Also, thanks to **Pk Love Omega **for reviewing the last three chapters. I love and appreciate all the reviews I get. Now, as usual I don't own YuGiOh. I hope you enjoy! :)**

**Desirae: AAHHH! *slams DreamixAngel into the wall***

* * *

><p>Yami rolled his eyes in annoyance and contempt. The second Mai, Malik and his 'friends' stepped out of the shadows, the blonde had yelped and fallen over like an idiot. His hope that he'd find his brother soon was diminishing already. He used the shadows to lift the blonde to his feet and glared at him.<p>

"We don't have mush time to waste on nonsense, tell us about this man in black." The blonde nodded and began his story.

"Well, the night after I, uh," Yami's eyes narrowed and the blond hurried on explaining, "the night after I, you know, the man broke into Yugi's room and tried to take him away. He put a knife to his throat and everything."

Absentmindedly, Yami raised his hand to his own throat as he remembered the disturbance from that night. _So that's what happened._ The blonde must have thought he was going to do something because he was notably more terrified from the moment Yami's hand moved. He gave the blonde the signal to go on with his story.

"Um," he began nervously, "anyway, I managed to push the guy out the window and Yugi actually saved me from falling out myself." Yami fought back a smile. His brother was never one to wish ill of anyone, even if they deserved it. It was both a dangerous and wonderful quality of his. The blonde continued.

"We didn't hear from him until tonight, well, his partner anyway. The first guy broke his leg. Anyway, tonight Yugi told me about everything, well, almost everything. He never mentioned you guys were twins, but that's not important. I felt bad for keeping him with me and for…" The blonde paused. Yami crossed his arms.

"And for what?" he asked dangerously. The blonde sighed and his previously fearful face shifted into one of guilt and resignation.

"I was going to do something I'm not proud of. But after getting to know your brother, I couldn't go through with it. So I decided to take him back to where he belongs. That's when the man, the second man, jumped us, knocked Yugi out, threw me in a dumpster and vanished." Mai crinkled her nose.

"So that's what that smell is." Yami turned back to her.

"Now is not the time, Mai." The blonde man perked up.

"Wait, there's one more thing." Yami spun back to him, eager for anything that could actually help.

"What would that be?" The blonde scrunched up his face as though he were trying to remember something. Yami's hopes were getting lower and lower by the minute.

"The man said to give you a message. He told me to tell you, ugh, what was it? Oh yea! He said, 'tell the brother to follow the lights if he wants to know why the power's out' and 'if he wants another clue, it'll be a part of his life that's ripped to pieces.' I don't know what that means, but he also said that Yugi will be waiting."

Yami was puzzled. What could that mean? Clearly, the one part was in reference to Yugi not having powers, but did that mean that these men knew why Yugi was the way he was? He turned to Malik and Mai, who both shrugged. He turned back to the blonde.

"Is there anything else?" The blonde scratched his head, then his eyes lit up as though he just thought of something.

"Yea, he said he couldn't very well go after you. I think he wants you too." Yami was really puzzled now. Why would they want him? Admittedly, he was a gem child, and gem children with red eyes were fewer in number than amethyst. Though, how could these mystery people know about him? He and the others were always so careful. He thought back to the clues and something hit him. He turned to the other two.

"We need to get back to the warehouse. I have to check something." The blonde stepped up beside Yami.

"Aren't we going to get Yugi?" Yami gave the blonde an icy glare that made him shiver. He couldn't help but feel slight satisfaction at this, not that he let it show. He made sure his impatience was evident in his voice.

"Yes, that's what we're doing now." Mai stepped up to the blonde and glared at him, crossing her arms in the process.

"If you're going to be helping us, you should learn to control the amount of stupidity that comes out of your mouth." The blonde looked Mai up and down and smiled.

"Do you have the power to stop hearts? Because I believe you made mine skip a beat." Yami almost laughed as Mai punched the blonde's gut. As he doubled over in pain Mai put her hands on her hips, glowering.

"Really? Not only is that a completely amateurish, lame ass line, this is not the time or place. You're so lucky we're all going so easy on you." She turned and Yami walked alongside her into the back alleys with the others following. As the blonde grumbled about being far from amateurish, Yami leaned in to Mai.

"Isn't that little spiel of yours like the pot calling the kettle black? Since when are you ever one for being concerned about the right time and place for something?" Mai glared at him.

"You're so lucky I don't make Malik want to use his 'friends' to kick your ass. Besides, you can't possibly know the pressure us beautiful people are under to put the unworthy in their place." Yami shook his head. Typical Mai.

* * *

><p>Jounouchi walked in silence behind Yami and the chick, alongside the tan blonde, and ahead of the three other people who, despite looking vapid and totally lost, looked normal with normal eyes. He leaned in toward the tan blonde and whispered.<p>

"Hey man, what's wrong with those guys behind us?" The man turned to him, glowering slightly.

"My name's not 'man', it's Malik. And nothing's wrong with them. They're just my mind slaves." Jounouchi must have seemed confused, because Malik huffed in frustration.

"I have the power to control people's minds and basically make them my slaves. They have no will of their own until I decide to release them. You might hear the others call them my 'friends'." Jounouchi nodded in comprehension.

"Oh, okay. Um, you're not going to-" Malik crossed his arms.

"No I'm not going to take control of your mind. I can only take control of a maximum of seven people at a time anyway. At least until I can better hone my skills. The other four are off guarding my place." Jounouchi sighed.

"Phew, that's a relief. So, what are their names anyway?" Malik uncrossed his arms and pointed to each of the three men with an attitude of exasperation.

"That's Steve, Steve, and-" Jounouchi snickered.

"Let me guess, Steve?" Malik shook his head looking confused.

"No, Mark. What would make you say Steve?" Jounouchi shrugged.

"No reason I guess." Malik gave him a weird look before turning forward again and put his hands in his pockets. Jounouchi shook his head and when he looked forward again, he saw they were just about at the warehouse. _I wonder why Yami wanted to come back here._

* * *

><p><strong>DreamixAngel: *has Des in headlock* Give up!<strong>

**Desirae: No!**

**Joey: What's going on? Another cat fight?**

**Olivia: Des and one of our reviewers had one. They've been stuck like this since the middle of the story.**

**DreamixAngel: Give up!**

**Desirae: No!**

**Olivia: This could take a while.**

**DreamixAngel: Give up already!**

**Desirae: Don't make me send you to the Shadow Realm! *kicks DreamixAngel's shin***

**DreamixAngel: OW!**

**Desirae: *slips out of headlock* Oh, I do believe it has been brought on! Come at me, bro!**

***more fighting ensues***

**Olivia: Okay, if you guys kill each other, I'm completely guilt free. Hasta luego! Good luck.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Olivia: Sorry for the lack of updates! Life, craziness, other story, it's nuts.**

**Desirae: Whatever.**

**Joey: Ooh, someone's mad. Did they lose the cat fight?**

**Desirae: I didn't lose! DreamixAngel gave up.**

**Olivia: Actually you were just too stubborn to admit defeat. Even I got bored waiting for you to give. DreamixAngel had you pinned for a good hour before we all went out for ice cream.**

**Desirae: I still maintain I never lost. I never admitted defeat, therefore, I never lost.**

**Olivia: *sigh* I'm not getting into this argument with you. Anyway, thanks to **Spindlegal, Luna Vampire Princess, InsaneEvilLittleEmmy, ToxicElixir, yugiohgirlkasha516, DreamixAngel, Youngbountygirl, Atemxyugi kfXjinx-

**Desirae: I could take-**

**Olivia: NO! No more fights! Anywho, continued thanks to **DarkHeartInTheSky-

**Desirae: Man Sage, I have to admit, you really held your own when you joined the fight! Too bad you didn't come in the beginning. We could have beaten DreamixAngel in a heartbeat then.**

**Olivia: And a continued thanks to **Mimi **(or ash)**, IcyShadowsFTW, soreceress of the nile, Pk Love Omega, **and **Random Raptor** for reviewing! Please enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Yugi's eyelids fluttered open and he found himself lying on an old bed with a rusted steel frame and creaky mattress in a dark, cinderblock room. The only light came from a dim glow somewhere outside.<p>

He sat up, letting his feet hang over the side of the bed, and tenderly brushed his fingers over his temple where he was hit. The pain was mild in comparison to previous confrontations, but it was still pain. If people kept this up, he was almost positive he'd sustain some serious brain damage sooner or later.

He looked around his prison to try to figure out where the heck he was. That's when he noticed one wall, instead of being cinderblock like the other three, was made of Plexiglas. There a line of small holes, about an inch or two in diameter and about half a foot apart, running horizontally along the middle and a locked door of the same material on the far right side of the room.

Yugi stood up and rubbed his arms. It was so cold in there, he could easily see the goose bumps on his arms even with the limited lighting. He walked up to the transparent wall and tried to peer as far down both directions as he could. As far as he could tell, the outside of this room was a hallway with cells similar to his own (with the exception that some walls were steel instead of Plexiglas) lining the sides both across from him and on his own side. He looked to the hall ceiling to see a single bulb that emitted a pathetic amount of light.

The oddest thing about all this was that Yugi had a strange feeling of déjà vu, as though he'd been here before. But he couldn't have, could he? As far as he'd known, he'd been always been with his brother, and before that, his mother.

A sudden clinking sound of a door being unlocked resonated from deep down the hallway. Yugi's head snapped in that direction and his fear levels spiked as the one guilty of breaking his reverie made his way closer and closer to Yugi's cell.

* * *

><p>Yami stormed through the door with the others in tow and went to the closet of the first floor. He tore it open and pulled an extremely dusty shoebox from the top shelf. He carried it out of the room, holding it as though it were a live explosive. As he placed it on the ground, Mai dropped to the floor beside him with understanding at his idea.<p>

"Is that… what I think it is?" Yami looked up at her and nodded.

"Everything mine and Yugi's mother left us before she died. Including…" he reached in and pulled out a few ripped pieces of paper, "these." The blonde man looked at the papers with complete confusion.

"What is 'these'?" Yami glared at the blonde with impatience and loathing.

"They're pieces from the only page of my mother's diary we were able to salvage, dated around the time Yugi and I were about a year old. If the man knows what I think he knows, and he knows about me, then he might, just might, know about this. Hence, it's a part of my life that was 'ripped to pieces.'" Mai shook her head.

"You do realize that you're just speculating at this point. How can you be sure this is what the man was talking about? Scratch that, the bigger question is how could he know about this?" Yami into Mai's eyes with such conviction, she seemed startled.

"Call me crazy, but my instincts are telling me this is it. I haven't always listened to them, but there's no better time than now to start." He raised his hand as Mai went to interrupt him, "It's a one in a million chance. I know that. Nevertheless, this is the closest thing to a lead I can think of. If this is what he was talking about, there may be more to this than just a plot to catch gem children."

Most of their mother's belongings had gone missing. The remainder had to be left behind at their original home so they could leave without being caught by Gem Con, with the exception of the contents of the box. The rest of the diary had been stolen, but these pieces had been torn up and thrown away. It was Yugi who picked them up and begged Yami to keep them. These were to forgotten for years to come until now.

The blonde stepped forward, hesitated for a second, then slowly kneeled next to Yami.

"What do you think he knows?" Yami suppressed the urge to rip the blonde's head off and give him a serious penalty game on the spot. He could prove useful later. He could know more than he was letting on, or at the very least, they could use him as a shield or a diversion. Yami sighed through his nose before answering.

"He mentioned that I needed to 'follow the light to find out why the power's out' right?" The blonde nodded. Yami continued.

"The power's out. As in, no powers." The blonde didn't seem to be getting it. His face was vacant and his eyes had an oblivious, devoid-of-any-thought glaze to them. Yami huffed in frustration.

"You're either completely clueless or completely useless. He's talking about Yugi!" The blonde thought for a moment before his eyes suddenly widened so much, they looked like they would pop out of his head.

"Wait, you're saying Yugi doesn't have powers? But he- but I- wait, what?" Yami furrowed his brow in disbelief.

"You didn't know?" How could he not know? Hadn't he spent the past two weeks with Yugi? Then again, at the rate things were going, Yami guessed he shouldn't be surprised. The blonde shrugged.

"Well it's not like he was exactly willing to talk about it. The first time he told me anything about, well, anything was tonight. But I guess that does explain a lot. Except for the eyes, of course."

Yami didn't have time for this. He turned back to the pieces of paper and tried to arrange them so that the edges matched up. He dropped the papers suddenly as a pang of fear that wasn't his own caught him by surprise.

Yugi was terrified.

* * *

><p>Mai knew something was wrong. Yami looked worried and he dropped the pieces. He was the most coordinated guy she knew, there was no way he would have just dropped them. She shuffled closer as Yami picked up the pieces. He glanced up to her and mouthed, 'We have to hurry'.<p>

She nodded and helped him put the pieces together like a puzzle. As far as she knew, this was from the one half page the twins could find and they had no clue why the page was ripped up like this.

They didn't seem to remember much about her, except that she tried to educate them the best she could and would play games with them in the evenings. And of course, they remembered her eyes. She had heard their stories of her beautiful blue eyes smile lovingly at them as she wished them good night. That is, before her untimely death.

Within seconds, the pieces were all in place and Yami read the words out loud, "_… back. I still can't believe anyone could do something like that. I'm just thankful Kurai had a change of heart, otherwise, we wouldn't have made it. I suppose he isn't completely awful._

"_Those insignias on the stoplights were a huge help in finding the place, though, I doubt they'll be using it anymore, not after being compromised. Once I reveal what I know now, they'll be ruined. Especially now that I have my proof. Until next time, Menko Mutou." _Yami looked up and around at everyone.

"That's all it says." Mai tiled her head in confusion.

"What did she mean? Is she talking about the little blue letters on the bottom corner of some traffic lights?"

"Maybe," Yami said, "That makes the most sense." Malik narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"There are symbols on the traffic lights?" Yami nodded.

"Yea, they're kind of hard to see because they're pretty faded," he turned back to Mai, "You know how they have those little arrows pointing down different streets next to them? I think they may be there for directions. That's what the man meant when he said 'follow the lights'." He stood up and faced the door, "We'd better go. Once we get our bearings, we can follow them." The blonde scratched his head.

"Uh, I don't know if this is could be something, but the blue symbols on the traffic lights are the same as the one on this building I pass on my paper route on the other side of town. If that's where they lead, we could just go there instead of wandering around looking for the right traffic lights." Mai smirked.

"Well Blondie, it seems you're not as useless as I once thought." The blonde glared furiously at her.

"The name's Jounouchi! Don't call me Blondie, that's what those men called me." Mai blinked a couple times in surprise and disturbance at the thought that she used the same name as those monsters.

"Sorry, I didn't know." Jounouchi nodded and smiled.

"It's okay. I'm just glad you're humble enough to apologize." Before Mai could teach him the meaning of the word humble, Yami spoke up.

"Jounouchi, can you just take us to the building?" Jounouchi nodded and was on his feet in a second.

"Awright! Let's go get our little buddy back!" All three gem children glared daggers at Jounouchi before following him out the door. Mai couldn't wait until this was over and they could be rid of this annoyance.

* * *

><p><strong>Desirae: Huh. You know, this is starting to get a little far fetched. How could Yami know that was what he was talking about?<strong>

**Olivia: Well, it's the only lead he has. Besides, I can answer it later.**

**Desirae: Waste of time if you ask me.**

**Olivia: I guess you didn't leaner anything, huh?**

**Desirae: Nope. Not a single thing. Because I never lost. **

**Olivia: Fine! Whatever!**

**Desirae: It's a good life.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Olivia: Hey! I wasn't going to upload until later, but it's reviewer Mimi's birthday so here you go :)**

**Desirae: Yea, happy birthday Mimi... wait, is it Mimi or ash? Because there are two names in the review.**

**Olivia: I think it's Mimi, that's the name in the top part.**

**Desirae: I don't know, maybe it's ash... **

**Olivia: It doesn't matter. The point is, this is a happy birthday thing so Happy Birthday! :D**

**Desirae: And a thanks to **Spindlegal, DreamixAngel **(still didn't lose)**, DarkHeartInTheSky **(VICTORY!)**, Atemxyugi kfXjinx, Luna Vampire Princess, Youngbountygirl, **and of course, **Mimi** for the reviews. And without further ado, this mess.**

**Olivia: Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>"Are we nearly there yet?" Yami asked impatiently. It was bad enough he was following someone, which was something he never did, but he was following the person who kidnapped his brother and allowed him to be kidnapped again. To make matters worse, it was taking them forever to get to their destination. Jounouchi turned his head back, seemingly annoyed.<p>

"I already told you, I've never taken the back roads there. It's be easier from the main roads." Yami rolled his eyes.

"And I've already told you there's no way we can go on the main roads. It's already too much of a risk travelling in this big a group like this, there is no way we're going out where everyone can see us." Jounouchi sighed and shook his head.

"And here I thought you were some brave guy with intense powers. I mean, you could fight off whatever officers we run into." Yami glared daggers at Jounouchi.

"Do you not realize how much attention that would earn? Whatever officers met us, would call reinforcements. That's not a big deal if it was just one or two of us. But with this many people, we wouldn't stand a chance, and we wouldn't be much help to Yugi if we got ourselves arrested now, would we?" Yami felt a hand on his shoulder and poised himself to fend off an attack when Mai shook her head and tightened her grip.

"And do you really think yelling is going to keep Gem Con off our trail?" Yami was taken aback. He hadn't been yelling, had he?

He nodded and allowed himself to calm down the best he could, which wasn't much because his twin empathy with Yugi was making it painfully clear that something bad was happening. It was all Yami could do not to dash onto the road and blindly follow the signs.

However, before they left the warehouse, he had promised Mai and Malik he wouldn't do that for the reasons he told Jounouchi. This, in the end, was what was best for his brother. Mai smiled at him then turned to scowl at Jounouchi.

"You heard the man, hurry up or he'll be forced to obliterate you, and you know he will." Jounouchi rolled his eyes but still looked nervous at her words. A few minutes later, he stopped suddenly.

"Wait, I think this is it." Yami looked up, seeing they were next to a very official looking building, or it would look official if it didn't look so run down. It looked like a small, two-story hospital or some kind of research laboratory. Jounouchi turned to Yami.

"I'll go around the front to double check." Yami held him back by wrapping the shadows around Jounouchi's torso.

"You're not going alone. Malik, send a couple of your friends with him to make sure he doesn't try anything." Malik closed his eyes and crossed his arms in irritation.

"You heard our so called leader, two of you go with Jounouchi." As two of Malik's men and Jounouchi went around to check it was the right place, Yami stared at Malik. He was never this moody, except maybe the first time they met, though that could be attributed to the fact that they were trespassing on his grounds at the time.

Yami shook his head. Everyone was just stressed out about this whole situation. They didn't know what they were up against. Were these mysterious men part of Gem Con? How did they know about the diary page, if they had known about it at all? How much did they know about, well, everything?

Jounouchi looked around the corner, back at them and nodded. This was the right place. Everyone followed him out to the front of the building.

* * *

><p>Yugi lay on a cold metal chair, not unlike those in a dental office, in a dark room. He fought against the buckled restraints on his wrists and ankles as the uninjured man with what seemed to be night vision goggles, or night vision sunglasses depending on what you thought they looked like, walked toward him with a large needle. The smile on the man's face was sadistic, making Yugi all the more fearful.<p>

"W-Why are you doing this?" he asked once the man was right beside him. The man smirked as grabbed Yugi's arm and checked for the vein.

"I'm sure on some level you know. After all, why you out of all the other gem children out there? Eh, Yugi Mutou?" Yugi's eyes widened as the man prepared to stab him with the needle. When it was about a half inch away from his skin, a phone rang. The man stopped, seemingly agitated, and pulled a slim, silver phone out of his back pocket.

"What is it?" he said. There was a pause before the man smiled, surprised, "Ah, they're early…. Oh, he's there too? I wonder why… That was rhetorical, _sir_… Okay then, I'll be there to greet our guests. Don't start without me." After a second pause, the man chuckled and hung up the phone. He turned to Yugi.

"I'm terribly sorry, but you'll have to wait a little while. Don't worry though, I'll be back really soon. In the meantime," the man put his needle down and picked up a second, "don't go anywhere."

He injected Yugi with whatever was in the second needle. Yugi gasped, then his head began swimming as his eyes started to lose their focus. Though he fought to stay where he was, his head was too heavy to hold up. His eyelids fluttered as he slipped into an unwelcome unconsciousness. The last things he heard were the words, "sleep well" and laughter.

* * *

><p>Yami glanced around at their surroundings. This was where they were keeping his brother. He could feel it. He was brought back to earth when Jounouchi opened the front door.<p>

"Come on, let's go." Jounouchi said. He was about to walk in when Yami wrapped the shadows around his waist, pulling him back. Jounouchi gasped and rubbed his stomach.

"What was that all about? I thought we were going to save Yugi." Yami put a finger to his lips and pointed to a camera aimed right at them. They knew they were here.

"We need to be careful," he whispered, "You and I will go in. Mai, Malik, you two will stay out here until we call you. Before you argue, Mai, I know you want to help and you will. But according to him," he pointed to Jounouchi, "these men have guns. I'd rather eliminate that threat first before you come in." Mai huffed and crossed her arms.

"Fine. If it means that much to you, I'll wait for your signal. All I ask is that you let me bash one of their heads in. No one messes with our family and gets away with it." Jounouchi turned to Yami.

"So, if you want to get rid of the guns for safety, why am I coming in?" Yami turned his back on him and headed for the door.

"It's easier for me if they have more than one target to shoot at." Jounouchi was about to say something until Yami cut him off, "You owe it to me and Yugi, remember?" Jounouchi sighed, put on a brave face, and followed him in.

They crossed the threshold and Yami looked around. They found themselves in a lobby of sorts. There was a curved reception desk near the back wall, dead plants near the entrance, and hallways going down opposite sides from the desk. It was eerily quiet.

Yami walked forward, his footsteps echoed as he did so. He glanced down both hallways. Nothing moved. No sounds came back to him. At the same time, something was off. Something wasn't right. He turned back to Jounouchi, who seemed to be feeling the same thing he was.

Yami motioned for Jounouchi to check down the hall on the right while he checked down the left. The blonde nodded and walked down the hall hesitantly. Yami walked down the hall he had decided to check, and began looking into rooms through glass panels on the doors. There were countless instruments that looked like they were used for either experimentation or torture.

_Then again_, Yami thought grimly, _in this case those words might be interchangeable_. He sped up his pace to try to find his brother. He looked in several more rooms until he found a room that was much like the others. It contained a chair with restraints, a table with tools, shelves with test tubes and equipment, a light over the chair, and a storage locker. What set this room apart from the others were several needles on the table and on the chair, restrained, lay—

"Yugi!" Yami shouted as he tore the door open. He raced to his brother's side and shook his shoulder, trying to wake him. When he didn't respond, Yami panicked, fearing the worst. He placed his shaky fingers on Yugi's exposed neck to try to find some trace of life. To his relief, he felt a weak heartbeat. He let out the breath he had been holding and started unbuckling Yugi's arms from the chair.

"Okay Aibou, come on and wake up. We have to get out of here." He undid the last restraint. He sat Yugi up straighter and turned him so his legs dangled over the edge of the chair. Yugi started falling forward but Yami caught him and sat him up again.

"Come on, Aibou, wake up. Those men could find us any minute. We're running out of time." He heard a hissing noise and a small, cylindrical something was thrown into the room, releasing gas. One second, Yami felt drowsy, the next, he was on his knees coughing. He barely had enough time to catch Yugi as he fell off the chair. As he lost consciousness, he heard a voice that said, "Actually, you've run out."

* * *

><p><strong>Desirae: I like this character. <strong>

**Yugi: You would like the guy who's tormenting me and Yami.**

**Desirae: What can I say?**

**Olivia: Nothing, just don't say anything. Again, Happy Birthday Mimi, and I hope you (and everyone reading) likes this chapter. Please review! They make me smile so much :)**

**Desirae: Flames!**

**Olivia: I thought you gave that up?**

**Desirae: Nope, just put it on hold. I'm still waiting for people to do it.**

**Olivia: ... I don't know how to respond to that.**


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